A Symmetric Galerkin Boundary Element Method for Linear Poroelasticity

In linear poroelasticity so far only collocation boundary element methods have been available. However, in some applications, e.g., when coupling with finite elements is desired, a symmetric formulation is preferable. Choosing a Galerkin approach which involves the second boundary integral equation, such a formulation is possible. Here, a previously presented integration by part technique for the regularization of the first boundary integral equation is extended to the second boundary integral equation as well. While the weakly singular representation of the double layer operator has been presented before, the emphasis lies here on the so called hyper-singular boundary integral operator. Due to the regularization, this operator can be evaluated numerically and, hence, be used within a numerical scheme for the first time. Different numerical studies will be presented to show the behavior of the established symmetric Galerkin boundary element method, also comparing it with collocation boundary element methods. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)