A Unified Treatment of Finite Volume, Finite Element, Field-Boundary Element, Meshless, Boundary Met (Methods of Computer Modeling in Engineering & the Sciences)

The last 3 decades of the 20th century saw the intense development of the new discipline, then commonly known as Computational Mechanics. The two methods of computational mechanics that were widely developed were the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Boundary Element Method (BEM). A large number of books were written, dealing exclusively with either the FEM or the BEM. In this century, the discipline has undergone a radical enhancement, leading to the more general paradigms of Modeling & Simulation Based Engineering, and Computer Modeling in Engineering & the Sciences. The present book is on the evolving discipline of Computer Modeling in Engineering & the Sciences. It presents, for the fi rst time, a unifi ed treatment of a variety of computer modeling strategies, including: Collocation Method, Sub-domain Method, Finite Volume Method; Finite Element Method; Field/Boundary Element Method; The Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) Method for Domain & Boundary Discretizations; Boundary Methods for certain linear problems, etc. Both Primal & Mixed Methods are presented. Linear & Nonlinear, Static & Dynamic problems; eigen-value problems of buckling and vibration; and acoustic radiation & scattering problems are discussed. A carefully chosen sample problem is solved, throughout the book, by using the various methods, and the solutions by the various methods are compared as to their accuracy, convergence, and effi ciency. MathLab or FORTRAN programs are included, to illustrate the computer solutions by a wide variety of methods listed above. This unique book should be of great interest to graduate students, professionals, and researchers in all disciplines of engineering & the sciences.