Reducing the Order of the Boundary Condition in a Theory of Plane Strain Elasticity with Boundary Reinforcement

We consider an elastic solid whose boundary is partly reinforced in such a way that the coated part of the boundary can be represented by the union of a finite number of open curves. We show how the (nonstandard) boundary condition on the reinforcement can be integrated resulting in an equivalent (lower-order) boundary condition which, unlike its higher-order counterpart, permits analysis of the corresponding boundary value problems using the boundary integral equation method. Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000) 74B05, 45E05, 35J25