A 2.5D hybrid SBM-MFS methodology for elastic wave propagation problems

This paper proposes a novel hybrid methodology that combines the singular boundary method (SBM) and the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) for the computational simulation of elastic wave propagation. Particularly, the methodology aims to address radiation or scattering problems of longitudinally invariant systems in the wavenumber–frequency domain involving boundaries with intricate geometries. The approach uses the SBM to deal with the complex parts of these geometries and the MFS for the smooth ones. The method is studied in the framework of three case studies involving longitudinally infinite cavities in a homogeneous full-space with circular, square-shaped and five-cusped hypocycloid cross-sections. These three examples are selected to assess the accuracy and robustness of the hybrid SBM-MFS approach in comparison with alternative modelling strategies. The comparisons show that the proposed method inherits the accuracy of the MFS while keeping the robustness of the SBM when dealing with complex geometries. The method is found to be computationally more efficient than the SBM or the boundary element method (BEM). Moreover, the hybrid approach naturally mitigates the effect of fictitious eigenfrequencies, a feature that neither conventional versions of the SBM nor the BEM have.