Analysis of Two-Dimensional Thin Structures (from Micro- to Nano-Scales) Using the Singular Boundary Method

Abstract

This study investigates the applicability of the singular boundary method (SBM), a recent developed meshless boundary collocation method, for the analysis of two-dimensional (2D) thin structural problems. The troublesome nearly-singular kernels, which are crucial in the applications of SBM to thin shapes, are dealt with efficiently by using a non-linear transformation technique. Promising SBM results with only a small number of boundary nodes are obtained for thin structures with the thickness-to-length ratio is as small as 1E-9, which is sufficient for modeling most thin layered coating systems as used in smart materials and micro-electro-mechanical systems. The advantages, disadvantages and potential applications of the proposed method, as compared with the finite element (FEM) and boundary element methods (BEM), are also discussed.