Wave propagation modelling in the frequency

domain: ampli…cation in harbours.

M.Pastor, M.Quecedo, P.Ortiz, M.Martín Stickle, D.Manzanal, A.Yagüe
Grupo M2i Modelos Matemáticos en Ingeniería
ETS de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Madrid
12th March 2015

1 Introduction

We will study in this Chapter the response of a particular type of mechanical

systems, semi closed or totally closed water bodies such as harbours and
estuaries, subjected to the action of surface gravity waves. The problem can
be described in two alternative forms:
(i) as a system of 1st order PDEs, studied in previous Chapters, and
(ii) as a second order hyperbolic equation, which is the subject of this
Chapter
In both approaches, we …nds elementary solutions called waves. The main
di¢ culties found in the analysis are:
(i) Numerical models introduce damping, so that the amplitude of a
propagating planar wave can decrease only because of it.
(ii) The velocity of the wave depends arti…cially on the relative wavelength,
i.e., the ratio of the wave length and the size of the mesh used to discretize
the problem.
(iii) In many practical cases, the domain extends to in…nity, and for prac-
tical reasons, its size has to be reduced. In this way, "arti…cial boundaries"
are introduced in the analysis, where either a wave …eld incides from the
exterior, or where waves created inside the domain have to leave it without
spurious re‡ections. We will refer to these conditions as "incident wave"
or "loaded" boundaries, and "absorbent" boundaries, respectively. Proper

1
modelling of absorbent BCs is of paramount importance when we study the
ampli…cation problems of harbours in conditions close to a resonant mode,
as they provide the main dissipation mechanism, preventing the amplitude
being in…nity.
The Chapter is structured as follows:
(i) We will describe the 2nd order scalar wave equation, showing how
this type of equation model some systems of interest in engineering, such
as elastic waves in bars and the response of soil layers to seismic loading.
Concerning waves in coastal regions, we will consider the simple linear long
wave models, and the Berkho¤ model for mild slope bottoms, of which the
former is a particular case.
(ii) Next, we will study suitable loaded and absorbing boundary condi-
tions in 1D, and how can they be generalized to 2D problems.
(iii) From the mathematical problem which has been cast in the time
domain, will be obtain the formulation in the frequency domain, where we
will make the assumption that waves have a single frequency. We will study
the boundary conditions in the frequency domain, and how the problem can
be discretized using …nite element techniques.
(iv) Once the reader is familiar with the mathematical model, we will
present some examples where the theory can be applied to solve real coastal
and harbour engineering problems, such as ampli…cation of long waves in
harbours.
(v) Finally, we will describe a …nite element model (LWAVE), which can
be used to model this type of problems, proposing a series of examples,
exercises and projects which can be used for the interested reader.

2 2nd order hyperbolic equations for wave

propagation
2.1 2nd order scalar wave equation in 1D
A typical form of the wave equation in 1D is

@2u 2
2@ u
= c (1)
@t2 @x2
where c is the velocity of propagation and u the …eld variable selected.

2
 If we seek elementary solutions of wave type, u = u0 exp(i x): exp( i!t),
after substituting in the PDE, we obtain

! 2 u0 = c 2 2
u0

from where we obtain the dispersion relation linking the wave number k ,
the wave speed c <and the angular frequency !

!= c (2)

which allows us to write the wave as:

u = u0 exp [i ( x !t)] = u0 exp [i (x ct)] (3)

We can see that it corresponds to a shape which propagates along the X

axis with speed c: As interesting examples of this type of equations, we will
study the longitudinal waves in 1D bars, and the shear wave propagation
from a rock layer trough a layer of soil.

2.1.1 Longitudinal waves in bars

We will consider a bar of cross section A; which in principle is not required
to be constant, length L and elastic modulus E;where the segment of length
dx shown in Fig.1 is subjected to the internal forces depicted in the …gure.
The balance of linear momentum equation is written as
@ @2u
A+ A+ ( A) dx = A dx 2
@x @t
where is the density, the axial stress and u the displacement …eld,
@ @2u
( A) = A 2
@x @t

The behaviour of the material is described by its constitutive equation:

@u
= E" = E
@x
After substituting in the balance of momentum equation, we get:
@2u 1 @ @u
2
= EA
@t A @x @x

3
 dx
∂
σ A+
∂x
(σ A)dx
σA

Figure 1: Elastic wave propagation in a 1D bar.

which, if A is constant, results on

@2u E @2u
= (4)
@t2 @x2
The velocity of propagation of the elastic waves is, therefore,
s
E
c=

2.1.2 Shear waves in a soil layer

A similar problem of interest in seismic engineering is that of a propagation
of shear waves from a rock base up to the surface, trough a soil layer.
If we assume that the soil layer has an in…nite length, and denote its
depth by H;the balance of momentum equation is (…g.2):

@ @2u
A+ A+ ( A) dz = A dz 2 (5)
@z @t
where is the shear stress,
@ @2u
( A) = A 2
@z @t
The constitutive equation relating the shear stress and the shear de-
formation is
@u
=G =G (6)
@z
4
 ∂
τ A+ (τ A) dz
∂z

τA

z x

Figure 2: Shear wave propagation in a soil layer

from where we arrive to:

@2u 1 @ @u
2
= GA
@t A @z @z
as A is constant, it simpli…es to:
@2u G @2u
= (7)
@t2 @z 2
which describes the propagation of the shear wave (S wave) with a velocity
s
G
c= (8)

Sometimes, this simple equation has been used to approximate the re-
sponse of earth structures such as earth dams (…g.3)

2.2 Long waves in the sea

We have already presented in previous Chapter a version of the non linear
shallow water equations, of which the linear long wave equations are a partic-
ular case. The term "shallow" refers to cases where the wave length is larger
than 20 times the water depth. As examples of long waves, we can men-
tion the tides, the wind surges, the waves generated by atmospheric pressure

5
 dz
A (z)

Figure 3: Simpli…ed modelling of a 2D earth dam subjected to a seismic

excitation in its base.

variations, the tsunamis, and some special cases appearing in coastal regions
which cause oscillations and currents in harbours.
We will obtain here a simple version of the linear case, making a series of
simplifying assumptions.
We will consider the column of water sketched in Fig.4, where we have
chosen a reference system OXYZ where the plane OXY is that of the sea
medium water level (MWL) and choosing the Z axis as shown in the picture.
We will denote by H(x; y) to the water depth measured from the MWL to
the bottom, and (x; y) to the value of the free surface position, assuming
that the horizontal variations of both are small, being also small the ratio
=H.
We will write the balance of mass equation as:
@ @ @
(uh) (vh) = (9)
@x @y @t
where u and v are the depth averaged values of the velocities along X and
Y. We have obtained this equation assuming that the net balance of water

6
 Z
Y
η

X
Hh

Figure 4: Linear long waves: variablesand magnitudes of interest

along X is

@ @
qx = u h dy u h dy + (uh) dx dy = (uh) dx dy
@x @x

and along Y

@ @
qy = vh dx v h dx + (vh) dx dy = (vh) dx dy
@y @y

Taking into account that the amount of water stored per unit time inside the
control volume shown in the …gure is
@
dx dy
@t
and making it equal to qx + qy , we obtain 9.

7
 The balance of linear momentum equations along X and Y are:
@u @p
=
@t @x
@v @p
=
@t @y

where we have assumed that: (i) the convective terms are small, (ii) There
are not friction forces on the bottom, nor wind or atmospheric forces on the
free surface, and (iii) viscosity and turbulence e¤ects are negligible.
The pressure variation along depth is only caused by the slope of the free
surface:
@p @
= g
@x @x
@p @
= g
@y @y
Taking all these relations into account, we arrive to:

@u @
= g (10)
@t @x
@v @
= g
@t @y

The mathematical model consists on a system of linear 1st order hyper-

bolic PDEs. If we derive with respect to time the balance of mass equation,
we get:
@ @u @ @v @2
h h = 2
@x @t @y @t @t
and, after substitution of 10 we arrive to:

@ @ @ @ @2
hg + hg = (11)
@x @x @y @y @t2
which can be written in a more compact manner as

@2
rT (hgr ) =
@t2

8
or
@2
div (hg grad ) = 2 (12)
@t
which is the p
2D linear long wave equation. We can see that the velocity of
the waves is gh:
One interesting case is that of channels of varying width b; where the 1D
equation is obtained as:

g @ @ @2
bh = (13)
b @x @x @t2

3 Special boundary conditions: loaded and

absorbing boundaries
3.1 Second order wave equation
We will consider the general 1D wave equation

@2u 2
2@ u
= c
@t2 @x2
which has the characteristic lines 1;2 given by:

dx
= c (14)
dt
along which, the PDE can be written as:

@u @u
d cd =0
@t @x
or
@u @u
d c =0
@t @x
From here, we arrive to
@u @u
c = r1;2
@t @x
where we have introduced the magnitudes r1;2 which are constant along the
characteristics. These magnitudes are referred to as Riemann invariants. It
can be easily veri…ed that r1 = @u
@t
+ c @u
@x
corresponds to a wave propagating

9
along the OX; while r2 = @u @t
c @u
@x
describes a wave propagating along
+OX
Therefore, if we consider the 1D domain [0; L] ; a wave inciding from
outside the domain in the end x = L; is characterized by:
@u @u
r1 = +c
@t @x
while at the boundary x = 0 is
@u @u
r2 = c
@t @x
Consequently, if one wishes to express the condition that a boundary is ab-
sorbent, it must leave to cross it a wave travelling outwards. The conditions
to be applied at left and right boundaries, are respectively: r1 = 0 and r2 = 0
. If we introduce the unit normal vector pointing outwards n both conditions
can be written as:
@u @u
+c =0 (15)
@t @n
In the case we know the wave inciding in the domain, the condition will
be:
@u @u
+c = rI (16)
@t @n
where rI is the Riemann invariant characterizing the incident wave.
We will present next some examples which will help to clarify these con-
cepts.

Example 1

A wave u = u0 cos( x !t) propagates along an in…nite bar, of which

we are only interested in a segment [0; L] : Obtain the boundary conditions
which have to be applied at each end. (Fig.3.1)
(This example illustrates the common features of di¤erent wave propaga-
tion problems of interest in engineering. It can be easily "translated" into a
wave propagating along an in…nite 1D channel)
Solution
At the end x = 0; the condition is of "incident wave known" type, and
we will have
@u @u
+c = rI
@t @n
10
 u = u cos (kx-wt)
o

X=0 x=L

with n = x: The Riemann invariant rI is obtained as:

@u
= ! u0 sin( x !t)
@t
@u @u
c = c = c u0 sin( x !t)
@n @x
from where
rI = (! + c ) u0 sin( x !t)
or, taking into account the dispersion relation ! = c ;

rI = 2! u0 sin( x !t)

The boundary condition at x = 0 is

@u @u
c = 2! u0 sin( x !t)
@t @x
At the right end x = L; we have n = x, so:
@u @u
+c =0
@t @x
which can be easily veri…ed, as
@u @u
+c = ! u0 sin( x !t) c u0 sin( x !t) 0
@t @x
Example 2

11
 A linear long wave of period T incides in the entrance of a rectangular
estuary of constant depth Hand length L;being re‡ected at its end. Assuming
the problem to be 1D, obtain the BCs to be applied at both ends. Verify
that the analytical solution u(x; t) = 2 u0 cos ( x) cos (!t) satis…es the BCs
.(Fig.3.1)

X O

Solution
We will choose the coordinate system shown in …g 3.1, with the origin at
the end of the estuary. The stationary wave is obtained by adding up the
incident and the re‡ected waves:

(x; t) = inc + ref l = 0 cos ( x + !t)+ 0 cos ( x !t) = 2 0 cos ( x) cos (!t)

It is interesting to see that the amplitude at the re‡ecting end is double of

that of the incident wave.
The boundary condition at the re‡ecting boundary is:
@ @
= =0
@n @x
In the proposed case, it is satis…ed, as:
@
= 2 0 sin ( x) cos (!t) jx=0 0
@x
At the entrance, x = L; the BC is:
@ @
+c = rI
@t @n
12
where
@ @
rI = ( 0 cos ( x + !t)) + c ( cos ( x + !t))
@t @n 0
= ( 0 ! + 0 c ) sin ( x + !t) = 2 0 ! sin ( x + !t)
@ @
If we obtain now @t
+ c @n
@ @
(2 0 cos ( x) cos (!t)) + c (2 0 cos ( x) cos (!t))
@t @n
= 2 0 ! cos ( x) sin (!t) 2 0 c sin ( x) cos (!t)
= 2 0 ! [cos ( x) sin (!t) + sin ( x) cos (!t)]
= 2 0 ! sin ( x + !t)
we see that it coincides with rI .

3.2 Extension to 2D problems

So far, we have considered 1D problems. Here, we will describe a simple

extension to 2D problems described by eqn.11, based on the assumption that
the wave arriving to the boundary is planar, and study the projection along
the normal to the boundary.
The absorbing boundary condition reads:
@ @
+c =0
@t @n
Concerning loaded boundaries (where an exterior wave …eld incides), we will
denote by m; the unit vector describing the direction of propagation of the
incoming wave and by to the abscissa measured along m; as depicted in
Fig.5. We will have, for plane waves:
@ @
+c = rI (17)
@t @
Taking into account the relation between the derivatives along and n we
can write:
@ @
= cos
@n @
from where we arrive to the BC:
@ 1 @
+c = rI (18)
@t cos @n

13
 n

P m

Figure 5: Special boundary conditions in 2D

4 Analysis in the frequency domain

4.1 Scalar 2D long wave equation
We will consider the general 2D equation of the type 11
@2
= rT c2 r
@t2
where p
c= gH
in the domain ; with boundary conditions of the following types:
(a) Prescribed height (Dirichlet) in u
=0
(b) Re‡ection in q
@
=0
@n
(c)Absorption in abs
@ @
+c =0
@t @n
(d) Incident wave …eld known at inc
@ 1 @
+c = rI
@t cos @n

14
This equation can be transformed using a Fourier transform, into an elliptic
problem which does not depend of the variable time. We can obtain the same
result in a much simpler way assuming that both the forcing terms and the
response are harmonic functions of frequency !:
In this way, we will assume that is given by

(x; t) = Re ( (x) exp ( i!t)) (19)

where (x) 2p C is a function de…ned in the complex domain, depending only

on x;and i = 1
In a similar way, the forcing term can be written as
I
rI = Re R exp ( i!t) (20)

After substitution in the PDE and the BCs, we arrive to:

rT c2 r + !2 = 0 (21)
x 2

with the following boundary conditions:

(a) Prescribed wave height (Dirichlet) in u

=0 (22)

(b) Total re‡ection in q

@
=0 (23)
@n
(c)Absorption in abs
@ @
+c =0 (24)
@t @n
Substituting the values
@
= Re ( i! exp ( i!t))
@t
@ @
c = Re c exp ( i!t)
@n @n
in the absorbing boundary condition, it results on:
c@
+i =0 (25)
! @n
15
which can be written as:
@ i!
=0 (26)
@n c
This condition can be generalized to partially absorbing contours as:
@ i!
=0 (27)
@n c
where is an absorption coe¢ cient which is equal to 1 if we have total
absorption and 0 in the case of perfect re‡ection.
(d) Loaded boundary inc
@ 1 @
+c = rinc
@t cos @n

where rI = Re RI exp( i!t) :

@u
After substitution of the values of rI ; @n
;and @u
@t
we arrive to:

ic @ 1
+ = Rinc (28)
! cos @n i!
which can be written as
@ ! cos
i cos = Rinc (29)
@n c c
where
1 inc inc
R =2 (30)
i!
In above equation, inc is the complex amplitude of the incident wave.
From here, we arrive …nally to:
@ ! ! inc
i cos + 2i cos =0 (31)
@n c c

4.2 Discretization
The problem described by ( 21) with the BCs ( 22), ( 23), ( 27) and ( 31),
can be discretized using the Galerkin method. We will denote by b (x) the
…nite element approximation to (x) :
X
(x) b (x) = Ni (x) b i (32)

16
where Ni (x) are the shape functions and b i the approximated value at node
i:
We will denote by R ; R u ; R q ; R abs y R inc the residuals corresponding
to the PDE and its boundary conditions. The weighted residual equation is:
Z Z Z
Ni R d + " u Ni R u d + " q Ni R q d
u q

Z Z
+ "abs Ni R abs
d + "inc Ni R inc
d =0 (33)
abs inc

where "u ; "q ; "abs and "inc are scalar parameters which to be chosen later.
We will introduce the notation:
Z Z h i
I1 = Ni R d = Ni r T c 2 r b + ! 2 b d
Z Z
I2 = " u Ni R u d = " u Ni b d
u u
Z Z
@U
I3 = " q Ni R q d = " q Ni d
q q
@n
Z Z !
@b i! b
I4 = "abs Ni R abs
d = "abs Ni d
abs abs
@n c
Z Z !
c b + 2i c cos inc @b
I5 = "inc Ni R inc
d = "inc i cos Ni d
inc inc
! ! @n
We will apply the Gauss theorem to the term I1 in which results on:
Z Z Z
T 2 b 2b @b
I1 = (rNi ) c r d + Ni ! d + Ni c 2 d
u + q + abs + inc
@n

to which we will add the boundary contributions denoted as I2 ; I3 ; I4 and

I5 : We will study separately the contributions from each type of boundary,
u ; q ; abs and inc :

Boundary u
Z Z
b @b
" u Ni U d + Ni c 2 d
u u
@n

17
where we can neglect the …rst term, as nodal values coincide with the
prescribed values on it. It results:
Z
@b
Ni c 2 d
u
@n

Boundary q
Z Z
@b @b
" q Ni d + Ni c 2 d
q
@n q
@n
2
If we choose for "q the value c ; both terms cancel out (Natural BCs)
Boundary abs
Z ! Z
@b i! b @b
"abs Ni d + Ni c 2 d
abs
@n c abs @n

We will choose "abs = c2 ; which results in:

Z
i !c Ni b d
abs

Boundary inc
Z ! Z
@b ! b + 2i ! cos inc @b
"inc i cos Ni d + Ni c 2 d
inc
@n c c inc @n

where we will take "inc = c2 in order to simplify the integral. It

results:
Z Z
inc
i ! c cos Ni b d 2i! c cos Ni d
inc inc

Adding up all the terms, we obtain

Z Z
(rNi ) c r b d + Ni ! 2 b d +
T 2

Z b Z
2@
Ni c d + i! c Ni b d
@n
Z u abs
Z
inc
i! c cos Ni b d 2i! c cos Ni d
inc inc
= 0

18
 or, after rearranging:,
Z Z
(rNi )T c2 r b d Ni ! 2 b d
Z Z
i !c Ni b d i ! c cos Ni b d
abs inc
Z Z
@b inc
= Ni c 2 d 2i! c cos Ni d
u
@n inc

P
Substituting b = Nj (x) j we arrive to the discretized set of equations

Kij i!Rij ! 2 Mij j = fi + qi

which can be written in a more compact form as:

K i!R !2M =f +q (34)

where Z
Kij = (rNi )T c2 rNj d
Z
Mij = N i Nj d
Z Z
Rij = c N i Nj d + c cos Ni Nj d
abs inc
Z
inc
fi = 2i! c Ni cos d
inc
Z
@b
qi = Ni c 2 d
u
@n
Analyzing these equations, we can make the following remarks:

The equation is similar -if not equal- to that obtained for discrete mech-
anical systems having internal elastic forces characterized by K ,
with inertial terms ! 2 M, the system being excited by i! f + q and
presenting a viscous damping i!R:

19
 In the case of the long waves modelled here, where no internal damping
has been considered, the damping term which appears in the equations
comes from the radiation of energy (waves) to the exterior of the do-
main trough both incidentR wave and absorbing
R boundaries. Indeed, the
damping term is Rij = abs c Ni Nj d + inc c Ni Nj d
It is important to see the di¤erence between boundaries where we
assume known the wave amplitude, where we will not introduce any
damping, and those where radiation creates the damping.
The mechanical system (harbours, inlets or other semi closed basins),
are excited by either incident waves or by prescribing the wave amp-
litude at them.
In case no incident wave nor absorbing wave conditions are present, the
response of the system will be in phase with the excitation, which can
prove wrong if the boundaries have sizes larger than the incident wave
length. A possibility is to take into account in the prescribed wave
height its phase.

4.3 Modal shapes and frequencies

If we consider the undamped system
K !2M =0 (35)
its natural modes and frequencies provide an information of paramount im-
portance regarding the dynamic response of the system.
(K)
Let us assume that ! k and are, respectively, the k th eigenvalue
and eigenvector of the system, ful…lling the condition
(K) (K)
K = ! 2k M
We will further assume that eigenvectors have been normalized with respect
to M; i.e.,
(K)T (K)
M =1
One important property is that of mode orthogonality with respect to matrices
M and K: If we consider two modes (I) and (J), we will have:
(I) (I)
K = ! 2i M
(J) (J)
K = ! 2j M

20
 (J)T (I)T
If we pre-multiply by to the …rst equality, and by to the second,
taking into account the symmetry of K and M, we arrive to:
(J)T (I) (I)T (J) (J)T (I)
K K = 0 = ! 2i ! 2j M

If the frequencies are di¤erent, the eigenvalues will be orthogonal with respect
to M
(J)T (I)
M =0
Taking into account that
(I)T (J) (I)T (J)
0= K = ! 2j M

we arrive to:
(I)T (J)
K =0
i.e., the eigenvalues will be orthogonal with respect to K too.
The theory we have presented here can be applied to other similar prob-
lems, as we will illustrate in the following example.
Example
A soil layer of depth H = 20 m:. lies on a rock base, along which the
shear wave generated by an earthquake propagates. The problem is governed
by the PDE
@2u G @2u
=
@t2 @z 2
and it will be discretized using two linear 1D …nite elements of length 10m:
Obtain:
(i) the mass matrix and the sti¤ness matrix
(ii) The modal shapes and the natural frequencies.
The soil will be assumed elastic, with a shear modulus G = 8:107 N=m2
and a density 2:103 Kg=m3 :
Solution p
The wave speed is c = G= = 200 m=sg; and the mass and sti¤ness
matrices are given by
Z Z
T 2 dNi dNj
Kij = (rNi ) c rNj d = c2 d
dz dz
Z
Mij = N i Nj d

21
 3

e1 l = 10 m

H = 20 m
2

e2

Figure 6: Soil layer under seismic excitation

The contribution from element 1 is:

Z
(1) dNi dNj
Kij = c2 d
1
dz dz
Z
(1)
Mij = Ni N j d
1

from where
c2 1 1
K(1) =
L 1 1
and
L 2 1
M(1) =
6 1 2
The element matrices of element 2 are the same,

K(2) = K(1)
M(2) = M(1)

22
and, after assembling, we arrive to:
0 1
2 1 1 0
c @
K = 1 2 1 A
L
0 1 1
0 1
2 1 0
L@
M = 1 4 1 A
6
0 1 2
Eigenvalues (modal frequencies) and eigenvalues (modes) are obtained by
solving the following eigenvalue problem:
8 0 1 0 19
< c2 1 1 0
L
2 1 0 =
@ 1 2 1 A !2 @ 1 4 1 A U ^ =0
:L 6 ;
0 1 1 0 1 2
where we have to impose the condition that the relative movement of node
1 is zero, which results on:
c2 1 1 L 2 1 ^ =0
!2 U
L 1 2 6 1 4
Another alternative is to modify the term (3,3) of the mass matrix, making
it equal to a large value, for instance 106 .
The computed modal frequencies and mode shapes are:
! 1 = 16:114 U(1) = (0:8165; 0:5774; 0)T
! 2 = 56:294 U(2) = (0:7071; 0; 0:7071)T
To be compared against the analytical values:
! 1 = 15:71 U(1) = (0:8165; 0:5774; 0)T
! 2 = 47:12 U(2) = (0:7071; 0; 0:7071)T

4.4 Harmonic response

The discretized model:

K i!C ! 2 M ^
=F (36)

can provides the response of the system to a harmonic excitation F^ of fre-

quency !:The response of the system is characterized by the vector of nodal
unknowns
1
= K i!C ! 2 M ^
F

23
 In the case of an undamped system, its response is
1
= K !2M ^
F

When the excitation frequency coincides with a modal frequency, the de-
terminant of K ! 2 M becomes zero, and the response amplitude is in…nity.
The system is said to be in resonance, with displacements proportional to
the modal shape.
The function
1(K)
H K (!) = K i!C ! 2 M
is referred to as the transfer function of the K th degree of freedom of the
system. It is used to relate the spectra of excitation Sexc (!) and of response
(K)
Sout (!); : whichcharacterize how the energy is distributed in the frequency
domain.
(K)
Sout (!) = H K (!):Sexc (!)
Therefore, it is possible to obtain the transfer function obtaining the
results for a su¢ cient number of frequencies.
Example 1
The soil layer sketched in …g.6 with H = 20 m:lies on a rock base, along
which shear seismic waves propagate. Obtain the propagation of the shear
waves along the soil layer in the case they are harmonic, with an amplitude at
the base of 1 mm, and a frequency f 1 Hz. As before, assume that the shear
modulus is G = 8:107 N=m2 and the density 2:103 Kg=m3 : The problem will
be discretized using two 1D …nite elements of equal length, L = H=2.
Solution p
The wave speed is c = G= = 200 m=sg:The discrete system is s

K !2M U = q

or
A:U = q
where the mass and sti¤ness matrices have been obtained in the preceding
Section. The force term is
Z
@ U^ @ U^
qi = Ni c 2 d = Ni c 2 jz=0
u
@n @n

24
The contribution of element (1) to the coe¢ cients matrix is:

c2 1 1 L 2 1
A(1) = !2
L 1 1 6 1 2

from where we obtain, taking into account the values of c and ! = 2 f =

2 = 6:28; to:

4000 4000 131:5947 65:7974

A(1) =
4000 4000 65:7974 131:5947
3:8684 4:0658
= 103
4:0658 3:8684

The contribution of the second element is the same:

A(2) = A(1)

Assembling both matrices we obtain

0 1
3:8684 4:0658 0:0
A= @ 4:0658 7:7368 4:0658 A
0:0 4:0658 3:8684

Next, we will de…ne the "reactions" vector q as

0 1
q1
q =@ 0 A
0

The system to be solved is,

0 10 3
1 0 1
3:8684 4:0658 0:0 U1 = 10 q1
@ 4:0658 7:7368 4:0658 A @ U2 A=@ 0 A
0:0 4:0658 3:8684 U3 0

The solution is obtained as:

U1 = 10 3
3
U2 = 1:1739 10
3
U3 = 1:2338 10

25
to be compared to the analytical values,

U1 = 10 3
3
U2 = 1:1756 10
3
U3 = 1:2361 10

In many occasions, we will need to obtain the displacements relative to

the rock base, which are obtained by sustracting the base movement:

U1 = 0:0
3
U2 = 0:1739 10
3
U3 = 0:2338 10
We leave to the reader the following examples:
Example 2
Repeat example 1, assuming now that the surface is of absorbing type
Example 3
Repeat example 1, assuming this time that what is known in the rock
base is the amplitude of the incident wave, which is 1 mm.

26
5 Berkho¤ (mild slope) equation
We will present here the mild slope theory, of which the Linear Long Wave
equation is a particular case when the assumption of shallow water applies,
i.e., when the product of the wave number and the undisturbed water depth
is small kH << 1:
The equation was proposed by Berkho¤ in 1972 [1], and further re…ned
by him in 1976 [2]. The interested reader can …nd in the text by Mei [16] a
detailed account of the theory.
Mild slope theory applies to situations whre the depth gradients are small:

jgrad Hj =kH < 1 (37)

The theory is linear, and, therefore, the amplitude of the wave A relative to
its wavelength should be small:

A= < 1 (38)

One interesting point is that it can be applied to a wide range of depths

from deep water to shallow water conditions.
Berkho¤ equation has been applied to model the propagation of waves in
coastal zones and into harbors, basins and inlets. It is able to reproduce both
di¤raction and refraction e¤ects caused by depth changes and the presence
of obstacles, providing a most interesting improvement over other simpli…ed
approximations.
Computational cost is not high. It is worth mentioning here that iterative
solvers of the Conjugate Gradient type can be used to solve the discrete
equations, as proposed back in the late 1980’s by Ortiz and Pastor [23], [26],
[17], and [20].
Since the original model proposed by Berkho¤, many extensions have
been proposed, regarding, for instance, dissipation caused by bottom friction
[4], and by wave breaking [5].
We will present next the Berkho¤ model equations, without its derivation,
which ca be found in the references of Berkhoww work [2] , in [17] of in the
Mei text [16].
The equation is
cg
div (ccg grad ) + ! 2 =0 (39)
c

27
where:
is a potential function de…ned in the complex …eld
c is the velocity of propagation, c = !=k
cg is the group velocity, de…ned as

1 2kH
cg = c 1+ (40)
2 sinh 2kH

It is important to notice that cg has to be obtained at every point in the

computational mesh by solving a non-linear equation. Knowing the frequency
!; we will solve
! 2 = gk tanh (kH) (41)
from where, once k is known at the point, we will obtain c and cg :

5.1 Boundary conditions for the Berkho¤ equation

We will present a simple method to obtain the incident wave and absorbing
boundary conditions based on the characteristic lines of the 1D propagation
problem in the time domain. The approach was proposed by Ortiz and Pastor
[26], [19], [17], and [20].
We will consider the equation

@2 c @ @
ccg (42)
@t2 cg @x @x

where (x; t) = Re ( (x) exp ( i!t)) :

We can consider that Berkho¤ equation is obtained from it.
The characteristic lines of this second order hyperbolic equations are
known to be:
dx p
= ccg (43)
dt
along which, the PDE ise written as:

@ p @
d ccg d =0
@t @x
or
@ p @
d ccg =0
@t @x

28
From here, we arrive to
@ p @
ccg = r1;2
@t @x
where the magnitudes r1;2 ;referred to as Riemann invariants are constant
along the characteristics. As explained before for the linear long waves case,
p
r1 = @u
@t
+ ccg @u corresponds to a wave propagating along the OX; while
@u p @x @u
r2 = @t ccg @x describes a wave propagating along +OX
From here, we obtain the absorbing and incident wave boundary condi-
tions as:
@ p @
+ ccg =0 (44)
@t @x
and
@ p @
+ ccg = rI (45)
@t @x
The extension to 2D problems is immediate, as shown above, and results
on:
@ p @
+ ccg = rI (46)
@t @
and
@ p 1 @
+ ccg = rI (47)
@t cos @n
Coming back to the frequaency domain, we obtain the following BCs:
(a) Prescribed wave height (Dirichlet) in u

=0 (48)

(b) Total re‡ection in q

@
=0 (49)
@n
(c) Absorption in abs

@ i!
=0 (50)
@n cg

(d) Loaded boundary inc

@ ! ! cg inc
i cos + ip 1+ cos =0 (51)
@n cg ccg c

29
5.2 Discretization
The problem described by the PDE 39 and the boundary conditions 48,
49, 50 and 51 can be discretized using standard Galerkin Finite Element
Techniques, as shown for the case of Linear Long Waves. As before, we will
denote by b (x) the …nite element approximation to (x) :
X
(x) b (x) = Ni (x) b i (52)

where Ni (x) are the shape functions and b i the approximated value at node
i:
The result has exactly the same structure than before,

K i! R ! 2 M b =f +q (53)

with:

b the vector of knodal unknowns (complex domain)

Stifness matrix Z
Kij = (rNi )T ccg rNj d (54)

Mass matrix Z
cg
Mij = N i Nj d
c

Radiation damping matrix

Z Z
p p
Rij = ccg Ni Nj d + ccg cos Ni Nj d
abs inc

Forcing vector
Z
cg p inc
fi = i! 1+ ccg Ni cos d
inc
c

Z
@b
qi = Ni ccg d
u
@n

30
References
[1] Berkho¤, J. C. W. (1972). Computation of Combined Refraction –Dif-
fraction, Proc. 13th International Coastal Engineering Conference, 741-
790.

[2] Berkho¤, J. C. W. (1976). Mathematical Models for Simple Harmonic

Linear Water Waves Wave Refraction and Di¤raction, Publ. 163, Delft
Hydraulics Laboratory.

[3] P.Bettess and O.C.Zienkiewicz, ”Di¤raction and refraction of surface

waves using …nite and in…nite elements”. Int.J.Num.Meth.Engng.
11, pp. 1271-1290, 1977

[4] Dalrymple, R. A., Kirby, J. T., and Hwang, P. A. (1984). Wave Di¤rac-
tion due to areas of high energy dissipation, J. Waterway, Port, Coastal
and Ocean Eng., 110, 67-79.

[5] De Girolamo, P., J. K. Kostense & M. W. Dingemans 1988. Inclusion

of Wave Breaking in a Mild-Slope Model, Computer Modeling in Ocean
Engineering (eds. Schre‡er and Zienkiewicz), Balkema, Rotterdam, 221-
229

[6] E. Devaux, 2009. "Analyse des seiches à partir de l’exploitation de don-

nées marégraphiques", Rapport de projet de …n d’étude, ENTPE,
Vaulx en Velin, France.

[7] Dotsenko SF and Miklashevskaya NA (2007) "Generation of seiches by

moving baric formations". Physical Oceanography, 17(6)

[8] Forel, F. A, 1873, "Étude sur les seiches du lac Léman", Bull. Soc.
Vaudoise Se. nat. XII, p. 213 sq.

[9] Forel, F. A, 1875 : "Les Seiches - Vagues d’oscillation …xe des lacs",
Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, vol. 58, p.
157-168

[10] F.A.Forel, Notes on the “Seiches” of the Swiss Lakes: To the editors
of the Philosophical Magazine and Journal, Philosophical Magazine
Series 5, Volume 2, Issue 13, 1876

31
[11] A.T.Ippen, Estuary and coastline hydrodynamics, McGraw Hill
(1966).

[12] Ippen, A. T., & Goda, Y. (1963). Wave induced oscillations in harbors:
The solution for a rectangular harbor connected to the open-sea (No.
R63 36). MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH CAMBRIDGE HYDRO-
DYNAMICS LAB.

[13] R.Iribarren and C.N.Olano, "Corrientes y oscilaciones de resacas en el

interior de los puertos", Revista de Obras Públicas, Madrid (1948)

[14] R.Iribarren, C.N.Olano and P.F.Fernández, "Ondas de resaca en los pu-

ertos. Ensayos de resonancia en modelos reducidos", Revista de Obras
Públicas, Madrid (1958)

[15] R.Iribarren, "Enseñanzas adquiridas en los Puertos del Grupo de

Guipúzcoa",Revista de Obras Públicas, Madrid (1962)

[16] Mei, Chiang C. (1994), The applied dynamics of ocean surface waves,
Advanced Series on Ocean Engineering 1, World Scienti…c, ISBN 9971-
5-0789-7, 740 pages.

[17] P.Ortiz ”Métodos Numéricos en Propagación de Ondas Super…ciales:

Teoría del Potencial”, PhD dissertation, Universidad Politécnica de
Madrid, 1988.

[18] P.Ortiz and M.Pastor, Internal report on numerical modelling of long

wave ampli…cation in Bilbao harbour, Centro de Estudios de Técnicas
Aplicadas (CETA), Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras
Públicas (CEDEX), 1987

[19] P.Ortiz, M.Pastor and J.Peraire, "Una aproximación a las condiciones

de contorno exteriores en propagación de ondas" Revista de Ingeniería
Civil 69, 1989

[20] P.Ortiz and M.Pastor "Un modelo numérico de refracción-difracción

de ondas en zonas costeras" Revista Internacional de Métodos
Numéricos en Ingeniería 6, 409-436, 1990

[21] P.Ortiz, J.Fuenlabrada and M.Pastor Long wave ampli…cation problems:

Frequency and time domain analysis. Computer Modelling in Ocean

32
 Engineering , Barcelona, O.C.Zienkiewicz, B.Schre‡er, A.S.Arcilla and
M.Pastor (Eds.) , pp 139-148 Balkema (Rotterdam) 1991

[22] M.Pastor, P.Ortiz and G.Gómez-Pina, ”Fenómenos de resonancia en pu-

ertos españoles”, I Congreso Iberoamericano de Métodos Com-
putacionales en Ingeniería, Vol II, Ed. Cedex, Madrid 1985

[23] M.Pastor,P.Ortiz & J.M.Martínez , Iterative solvers for wave

problems, in Hydraulic Engineering Software , Southampton,
M.Radojkovic,C.Maksimovic and C.A.Brebbia (Eds) , pp19-32, Springer
Verlag (1986) ISBN 0 905451 56 2

[24] M.Pastor,P.Ortiz y J.Peraire Long wave problems in harbours: numer-

ical techniques and boundary conditions Numerical Methods in Engin-
eering: Theory and Applications, NUMETA Swansea, UK G.N.Pande y
J.Middleton (Eds.) Martinus Nijho¤ Publ. (1987)

[25] M.Pastor ,P.Ortiz and J.Peraire Numerical Models for ampli…cation of

long waves In B.Schre- er y O.C.Zienkiewicz (Eds) , Computer model-
ling in Ocean Engineering, pg.323-329 Proc. Int.Conf. Balkema, Rotter-
dam (1988) ISBN 906191 8367

[26] M.Pastor, P.Ortiz and J.Peraire, ”Long Wave problems in harbours:

numerical techniques and boundary conditions”, Numerical Methods
in Engineering: Theory and Applications, Pineridge Press, 1987

[27] C.Ramis and A.Jansa, "Condiciones meteorológicas simultáneas a la

aparición de oscilaciones del nivel del mar de amplitud extraordinaria
en el mediterráneo occidental", Rev. de Geofísica, 35-42, 1983

[28] O.C.Zienkiewicz and R.L.Taylor, The Finite Element Method (4th.

edition), Vosl.1-3, McGraw-Hill, 1991

33