Abstract
Influence functions, that permit us to determine stresses and displacements at an arbitrary point in an infinite, homogeneous, linear elastic, anisotropic medium due to different three-dimensional (3-D) stress or displacement discontinuities distributed on infinite, flat, band-type elements, are presented. Any straight-line segment on the band, which is perpendicular to its infinite side, has the same distribution of the discontinuities. Along with the functions, their Taylor series approximations are also provided. The last can be useful to analyse stresses and displacements at points distant from the elements. The functions allow us to avoid procedures of numerical integration in the Indirect Boundary Element Method and/or the Displacement Discontinuity Method computer codes that are able to solve complete plane-strain problems with 3-D boundary conditions for an elastic, anisotropic medium. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.