Influence of boundary curvature on tangential stresses for the displacement discontinuity method

It is known that in the displacement discontinuity modeling, tangential stresses evaluate incorrectly near curved boundaries when flat elements are used. This paper shows that this error is intrinsic to the use of flat elements and hence cannot be corrected by element refinement. It derives a correction factor that is a function of boundary curvature and local applied stress, and shows how this factor can be used to correct the results of the traditional displacement discontinuity method. The possible generalization of the curvature effect to higher-order geometric domains is also discussed.