Research Report: Manuscript CMCU-95-04, July 1995

A Space-Time Finite Element Method for the Exterior Structural Acoustics Problem: Time-Dependent Radiation Boundary Conditions in Two Space Dimensions

Lonny L. Thompson

Computational Mechanics at Clemson University
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0921

Abstract

A time-discontinuous Galerkin space-time finite element method is formulated for the exterior structural acoustics problem in two space dimensions. The problem is posed over a bounded computational domain with local time-dependent radiation (absorbing) boundary conditions applied to the fluid truncation boundary. Aborbing boundary conditions are incorporated as `natural' boundary conditions in the space-time variational equation, i.e. they are enforced weakly in both space and time. Following Bayliss and Turkel, time-dependent radiation boundary conditions for the two-dimensional wave equation are developed from an asymptotic approximation to the exact solution in the frequency domain expressed in negative powers of a nondimensional wavenumber. In this paper we undertake a brief development of the time-dependent radiation boundary conditions, establishing their relationship to the exact impedance (DtN map) for the acoustic fluid, and characterize their accuracy when implemented in our space-time finite element formulation for transient structural acoustics. Stability estimates are reported together with an analysis of the positive form of the matrix problem emanating from the space-time variational equations for the coupled fluid-structure system. Several numerical simulations of transient radiation and scattering in two space dimensions are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the space-time method.

Postscript file of Manuscript CMCU-95-04

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