An improved boundary distributed source method for two-dimensional Laplace equations

In this work, the boundary distributed source (BDS) method [EABE 34(11): 914-919] based on the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) is considered for the solution of two-dimensional Laplace equations. The BDS is a truly mesh-free method and quite easy to implement since the source points and field points are collocated on the domain boundary while the conventional MFS requires a fictitious boundary where the source points locate. The main idea of the BDS is that to avoid the singularities of the fundamental solutions the concentrated point sources in the conventional MFS are replaced by distributed sources over circles centered at the source points. In the original BDS, all elements of the system matrix can be derived analytically in a very simple form for the Dirichlet boundary conditions and off-diagonal elements for the Neumann boundary conditions, while the diagonal elements for the Neumann boundary conditions can be obtained indirectly from the constant potential field. This work suggests a simple way to determine the diagonal elements for the Neumann boundary conditions by invoking that the boundary integration of the normal gradient of the potential should vanish. Several numerical examples are addressed to show the feasibility and the accuracy of the proposed method. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.