A fast multipole boundary element method for 2D viscoelastic problems

A fast multipole formulation for 2D linear viscoelastic problems is presented in this paper by incorporating the elastic–viscoelastic correspondence principle. Systems of multipole expansion equations are formed and solved analytically in Laplace transform domain. Three commonly used viscoelastic models are introduced to characterize the time-dependent behavior of the materials. Since the transformed multipole formulations are identical to those for the 2D elastic problems, it is quite easy to implement the 2D viscoelastic fast multipole boundary element method. Besides, all the integrals are evaluated analytically, leading to highly accurate results and fast convergence of the numerical scheme. Several numerical examples, including planar viscoelastic composites with single inclusion or randomly distributed multi-inclusions, as well as the problem of a crack in a pressured viscoelastic plane, are presented. The results are verified by comparison with the developed analytical solutions to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the approach. & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.