Abstract
A method for the numerical solution of singular integral equations of Cauchy type is developed. The unknown function is expressed as a product of a weight function and a continuous function 0(t). The continuous function ~(t) is approximated by piecewise quadratic polynomials, and the singular integral equation is reduced to a linear algebraic system. Two numerical examples are given, and comparisons are made with the widely used Gauss-type methods. By comparing the stress intensity factors obtained in the solution of a singular integral equation that arises in the analysis of a cruciform crack, the superiority of the method developed here over Gauss-type methods is demonstrated.