A Comprehensive Integral-Form Framework for the Stress-Driven Non-Local Model: The Role of Convolution Kernel, Regularization and Boundary Effects

This manuscript presents a study of the Stress-Driven integral Model (SDM) for the bending response of Bernoulli–Euler nanobeams. Unlike conventional approaches that reformulate the nonlocal integral problem into an equivalent differential form, a direct numerical strategy is developed to solve the integral equation. The proposed framework enables a systematic comparison of six different convolution kernels (Helmholtz, Gaussian, Lorentzian, triangular, Bessel and hyperbolic cosine), highlighting how their mathematical properties influence the structural response. To address issues related to long-range interactions and the potential ill-posedness of the integral operator, an adaptive regularization procedure based on the Morozov discrepancy principle is introduced. Furthermore, a local clipping and renormalization technique is proposed to properly account for boundary effects while preserving the weighted averaging property of the kernels. Validation against available analytical solutions for the Helmholtz kernel demonstrates high accuracy, with errors below 1%. The results show that the nonlocal parameter significantly affects structural rigidity depending on the kernel shape and that the proposed approach ensures consistent convergence to the local solution as the nonlocal parameter tends to zero.