ABSTRACT
The evolutionary history of the development of eigenvalue formulations, based on the boundary element method (BEM), is presented in this book. The material is presented in a chronologically organized manner, starting from the early Determinant Search Method (DSM) to the most recently proposed techniques such as the Multiple Reciprocity Method (MRM), Series Expansion Method (SEM), etc. An alternative approach would have been to organize the materials based upon the fields of application such as two-dimensional (2-D) elasticity, three-dimensional (3-D) elasticity, plates and shells, 2-D acoustics and so on. This would, however, have turned us away from our stated goal to focus our attention on the development of eigenvalue formulation itself. We chose the chronological approach over the application-driven approach because the BEM based eigenvalue formulations are still in an evolving stage and more research will be required in a number of related areas to improve the degree of maturity of the technique. The book will hopefully encourage researchers to continue work on the subject.
