Boundary Methods: Elements, Contours, and Nodes presents the results of cutting-edge research in boundary-based mesh-free methods. These methods combine the dimensionality advantage of the boundary element method with the ease of discretization of mesh-free methods, both of which, for some problems, hold distinct advantages over the finite element method.

After introducing some novel topics related to the boundary element method (BEM), the authors focus on the boundary contour method (BCM)-a variant of the BEM that further reduces the dimensionality of a problem. The final section of the book explores the boundary node method, which combines the BEM with moving least-squares approximants to produce a mesh-free, boundary-only method.

The authors, who are also the primary developers of these methods, clearly introduce and develop each topic. In addition to numerical solutions of boundary value problems in potential theory and linear elasticity, they also discuss topics such as shape sensitivities, shape optimization, and adaptive meshing. Numerical results for selected problems appear throughout the book, as do extensive references.