Boundary elements and finite elements

Abstract

Both methods have their strong points

FEM BEM

element library reduction of dimension

robust higher precision

variable coefficients exterior problems

so that a coupling of the two methods or, as it was phrased, a Marriage à la Mode,[77], should benefit from both. The coupling will usually be done by reformulating the coupling conditions of the boundary data of the BE-domain as a stiffness matrix and to couple this stiffness matrix with the stiffness matrices of the neighboring finite elements.