Perfectly matched layers for time-harmonic elastodynamics of unbounded domains: theory and finite-element implementation

One approach to the numerical solution of a wave equation on an unbounded domain uses a bounded domain surrounded by an absorbing boundary or layer that absorbs waves propagating outwards from the bounded domain. A perfectly matched layer (PML) is an unphysical absorbing layer model for linear wave equations that absorbs, almost perfectly, outgoing waves of all non-tangential angles-of-incidence and of all non-zero frequencies. This paper develops the PML concept for time-harmonic elastodynamics in Cartesian coordinates, utilising insights obtained with electromagnetics PMLs, and presents a novel displacement-based, symmetric finite-element implementation of the PML for time-harmonic plane-strain or three-dimensional motion. The PML concept is illustrated through the example of a one-dimensional rod on elastic foundation and through the anti-plane motion of a two-dimensional continuum. The concept is explored in detail through analytical and numerical results from a PML model of the semi-infinite rod on elastic foundation, and through numerical results for the anti-plane motion of a semi-infinite layer on a rigid base. Numerical results are presented for the classical soil-structure interaction problems of a rigid strip-footing on a (i) half-plane, (ii) layer on a half-plane, and (iii) layer on a rigid base. The analytical and numerical results obtained for these canonical problems demonstrate the high accuracy achievable by PML models even with small bounded domains. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.