Comic · Oxford University Press

Analytic Element Method

Complex Interactions of Boundaries and Interfaces

The Analytic Element Method provides a foundation to solve boundary value problems commonly encountered in engineering and science. The goals are: to introduce readers to the basic principles of the AEM, to provide a template for those interested in pursuing these methods, and to empower readers to extend the AEM paradigm to an even broader range of problems. A comprehensive paradigm: place an element within its landscape, formulate its interactions with other elements using linear series of influence functions, and then solve for its coefficients to match its boundary and interface conditions with nearly exact precision. Collectively, sets of elements interact to transform their environment, and these synergistic interactions are expanded upon for three common types of problems. The first problem studies a vector field that is directed from high to low values of a function, and applications include: groundwater flow, vadose zone seepage, incompressible fluid flow, thermal conduction and electrostatics. A second type of problem studies the interactions of elements with waves, with applications including water waves and acoustics. A third type of problem studies the interactions of elements with stresses and displacements, with applications in elasticity for structures and geomechanics. The Analytic Element Method paradigm comprehensively employs a background of existing methodology using complex functions, separation of variables and singular integral equations. This text puts forth new methods to solving important problems across engineering and science, and has a tremendous potential to broaden perspective and change the way problems are formulated.