Diffraction of P, S and Rayleigh waves by three-dimensional topographies

Abstract

The diffraction of P, S and Rayleigh waves by 3-D topographies in an elastic halfspace is studied using a simplified indirect boundary element method (IBEM). This technique is based on the integral representation of the diffracted elastic fields in terms of single-layer boundary sources. It can be seen as a numerical realization of Huygens' principle because diffracted waves are constructed at the boundaries from where they are radiated by means of boundary sources. A Fredholm integral equation of the second kind for such sources is obtained from the stress-free boundary conditions. A simplified discretization scheme for the numerical and analytical integration of the exact Green's functions, which employs circles of various sizes to cover most of the boundary surface, is used.