Direct computation of Cauchy principal value integrals in advanced boundary elements

This paper presents a new method for the direct computation of strongly singular integrals existing in the Cauchy principal value sense. It can be usefully applied in the solution by the direct boundary element method of many different problems. Initially, some considerations are provided in order to summarize the state‐of‐the‐art on this issue. Then the features of the proposed method are reported. The procedure allows the direct calculation of Cauchy principal value integrals with first‐order singularity and it is applicable even in advanced boundary element methods employing high‐order elements. It requires only the use of standard Gaussian quadrature formulae plus the computation of a logarithmic term. Some examples show the effectiveness and efficiency of the procedure.