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The combination method, combined finite element‐boundary element approach, is suitable for unbounded field problems. Although this technique attains a high degree of accuracy, the matrix of the discretized system equation is not banded but sometimes densely or sparsely populated. We reported the development of an infinite boundary element for 2‐D Laplace problems, with which the bandwidth of the discretized system matrix does not increase beyond that of the finite element region. In this paper, we extend this approach and propose another infinite boundary element for 2‐D Helmholtz problems. To illustrate the validity of the proposed technique, some numerical examples are given and their results are compared with those of other methods.

The boundary element method is a useful method for the analysis of field problems involving unbounded regions. Therefore, the method can be used advantageously in combination with the finite element method. This is sometimes called a combination method and it is suitable as a picture‐frame technique. Although this technique attains good accuracy, the matrix of the discretized equation is not banded, since it is a dense matrix. In this paper, we propose an infinite boundary element which divides the unbounded region radially. By the use of this element, the bandwidth of the discretized system matrix does not increase beyond that of the finite element region and its original matrix structure is maintained. The infinite boundary element can also be applied to homogeneous unbounded field problems, for which the Green's function of the mirror image is difficult to use. To illustrate the validity of the proposed technique, some numerical calculations are demonstrated and the results are compared with those of the usual combination method and the method using the hybrid‐type infinite element.

Materials with anisotropic conductivity are frequently used as sensors in electrical industries. In this paper, an anisotropic conductivity tensor to express Hall effect in n‐type semiconductors is derived and its steady‐current field is solved using the finite element method. Some numerical examples are given and comparison with measured data is discussed.

Ion‐acoustic wave propagation in plasma is discussed. Analytical and numerical solutions are given for one‐dimensional plane waves. The similarity of the ion‐acoustic waves to the waves associated with an electrical transmission line is pointed out and the solved examples are compared with experimental observations.

A numerical integration scheme using the Monte Carlo method is discussed to evaluate the singular integral in boundary elements. A numerical demonstration is given for some potential problems. Results evaluated by the Monte Carlo method are compared with the analytical ones for accuracy and computation time. Examination shows the validity and capability of the approach.

Survey of period infinite element developments The first infinite elements for periodic wave problems, as stated in Part 1, were developed by Bettess and Zienkiewicz, the earliest publication being in 1975. These applications were of ‘decay function’ type elements and were used in surface waves on water problems. This was soon followed by an application by Saini et al., to dam‐reservoir interaction, where the waves are pressure waves in the water in the reservoir. In this case both the solid displacements and the fluid pressures are complex valued. In 1980 to 1983 Medina and co‐workers and Chow and Smith successfully used quite different methods to develop infinite elements for elastic waves. Zienkiewicz et al. published the details of the first mapped wave infinite element formulation, which they went on to program, and to use to generate results for surface wave problems. In 1982 Aggarwal et al. used infinite elements in fluid‐structure interaction problems, in this case plates vibrating in an unbounded fluid. In 1983 Corzani used infinite elements for electric wave problems. This period also saw the first infinite element applications in acoustics, by Astley and Eversman, and their development of the ‘wave envelope’ concept. Kagawa applied periodic infinite wave elements to Helmholtz equation in electromagnetic applications. Pos used infinite elements to model wave diffraction by breakwaters and gave comparisons with laboratory photogrammetric measurements of waves. Good agreement was obtained. Huang also used infinite elements for surface wave diffraction problems. Davies and Rahman used infinite elements to model wave guide behaviour. Moriya developed a new type of infinite element for Helmholtz problem. In 1986 Yamabuchi et al. developed another infinite element for unbounded Helmholtz problems. Rajapalakse et al. produced an infinite element for elastodynamics, in which some of the integrations are carried out analytically, and which is said to model correctly both body and Rayleigh waves. Imai et al. gave further applications of infinite elements to wave diffraction, fluid‐structure interaction and wave force calculations for breakwaters, offshore platforms and a floating rectangular caisson. Pantic et al. used infinite elements in wave guide computations. In 1986 Cao et al. applied infinite elements to dynamic interaction of soil and pile. The infinite element is said to be ‘semi‐analytical’. Goransson and Davidsson used a mapped wave infinite element in some three dimensional acoustic problems, in 1987. They incorporated the infinite elements into the ASKA code. A novel application of wave infinite elements to photolithography simulation for semiconductor device fabrication was given by Matsuzawa et al. They obtained ‘reasonably good’ agreement with observed photoresist profiles. Häggblad and Nordgren used infinite elements in a dynamic analysis of non‐linear soil‐structure interaction, with plastic soil elements. In 1989 Lau and Ji published a new type of 3‐D infinite element for wave diffraction problems. They gave good results for problems of waves diffracted by a cylinder and various three dimensional structures.

This paper gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied to the analysis of ceramics and glass materials. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations on the subject that were published between 1977‐1998. The following topics are included: ceramics – material and mechanical properties in general, ceramic coatings and joining problems, ceramic composites, ferrites, piezoceramics, ceramic tools and machining, material processing simulations, fracture mechanics and damage, applications of ceramic/composites in engineering; glass – material and mechanical properties in general, glass fiber composites, material processing simulations, fracture mechanics and damage, and applications of glasses in engineering.

The two‐dimensional discrete Huygens’ modelling or TLM simulation is presented for the TE electromagnetic field problems. The TLM element or node with variable traveling speed and characteristic impedance is applied to several practical problems including scattering at the edge of a wall and over periodic grids or grooves, wave propagation along a dielectric structure, and a mode coupling between two parallel optical waveguides. The TLM solutions are compared with the theoretical ones or the results of other numerical methods and reasonable agreement is achieved.

This bibliography is offered as a practical guide to published papers, conference proceedings papers and theses/dissertations on the finite element (FE) and boundary element (BE) applications in different fields of biomechanics between 1976 and 1991. The aim of this paper is to help the users of FE and BE techniques to get better value from a large collection of papers on the subjects. Categories in biomechanics included in this survey are: orthopaedic mechanics, dental mechanics, cardiovascular mechanics, soft tissue mechanics, biological flow, impact injury, and other fields of applications. More than 900 references are listed.

Infinite elements provide one of the most attractive alternatives for dealing with differential equations in unbounded domains. The region where loads, sources, inhomogeneities and anisotropics exist is modelled by finite elements and the far, uniform region is represented by infinite elements. We propose a new infinite element which can represent any type of decay towards infinity. The element is so simple that explicit expressions can be obtained for the element matrix in many cases, yet large improvements in the accuracy of the solution are obtained as compared with the truncated mesh. Explicit expressions are in fact given for the Laplace equation and 1/rn decay. The element is conforming with linear triangles and bilinear quadrilaterals in two dimensions. The element can be used with any standard finite‐element program without having to modify the shape function library or the numerical quadrature library of the program. The structure or bandwidth of the stiffness matrix of the finite portion of the mesh is not modified when the infinite elements are used. An example problem is solved and the solution found to be better than several other methods in common usage. The proposed method is thus highly recommended.