Coupling of mapped wave infinite elements and plane wave basis finite elements for the Helmholtz equation in exterior domains

The theory for coupling of mapped wave infinite elements and special wave finite elements for the solution of the Helmholtz equation in unbounded domains is presented. Mapped wave infinite elements can be applied to boundaries of arbitrary shape for exterior wave problems without truncation of the domain. Special wave finite elements allow an element to contain many wavelengths rather than having many finite elements per wavelength like conventional finite elements. Both types of elements include trigonometric functions to describe wave behaviour in their shape functions. However the wave directions between nodes on the finite element/infinite element interface can be incompatible. This is because the directions are normally globally constant within a special finite element but are usually radial from the 'pole' within a mapped wave infinite element. Therefore forcing the waves associated with nodes on the interface to be strictly radial is necessary to eliminate this internode incompatibility. The coupling of these elements was tested for a Hankel source problem and plane wave scattering by a cylinder and a good accuracy was achieved. This paper deals with unconjugated infinite elements and is restricted to two-dimensional problems. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.