Coupling of Dirichlet-to-Neumann boundary condition and finite difference methods in curvilinear coordinates for multiple scattering

The applicability of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann technique coupled with finite difference methods is enhanced by extending it to multiple scattering from obstacles of arbitrary shape. The original boundary value problem (BVP) for the multiple scattering problem is reformulated as an interface BVP. A heterogenous medium with variable physical properties in the vicinity of the obstacles is considered. A rigorous proof of the equivalence between these two problems for smooth interfaces in two and three dimensions for any finite number of obstacles is given. The problem is written in terms of generalized curvilinear coordinates inside the computational region. Then, novel elliptic grids conforming to complex geometrical configurations of several two-dimensional obstacles are constructed and approximations of the scattered field supported by them are obtained. The numerical method developed is validated by comparing the approximate and exact far-field patterns for the scattering from two circular obstacles. In this case, for a second order finite difference scheme, a second order convergence of the numerical solution to the exact solution is easily verified. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.