The boundary element method is more appropriate than the finite element method to tackle linear, wave propagation, infinite domain, mobile boundaries and unknown boundaries problems. In some engineering applications, both methods are combined. This book presents the mathematical basis of this method and its computer implementation. Numerous applications to fluid mechanics, mechanics of solids, acoustics and electromagnetism are developed.

Boundary element methods relate to a wide range of engineering applications, including fluid flow, fracture analysis, geomechanics, elasticity, and heat transfer. Thus, new results in the field hold great importance not only to researchers in mathematics, but to applied mathematicians, physicists, and engineers.

A two-day minisymposium Mathematical Aspects of Boundary Element Methods at the IABEM conference in May 1998 brought together top rate researchers from around the world, including Vladimir Maz ya, to whom the conference was dedicated. Focusing on the mathematical and...