Torsional analysis of thin-walled beams of open sections by the direct boundary element method

•Direct BEM is established for static torsional analysis for Vlasov’s torsion theory.•Fundamental solutions are derived.•Integral and algebraic equations are developed.•Results confirm the effectiveness and correctness of this proposed BEM formulation.

This article presents a direct boundary element formulation for static torsional analysis of open section thin-walled members. All mathematical representations of the problem such as integral equations, fundamental solutions and algebraic systems are established in terms of typical quantities (twisting moment, bimoment, angle of twist and its rate) of Vlasov’s nonuniform torsion theory. Numerical results are presented for different cases of torque loadings and boundary conditions.