Wave propagation in slowly varying waveguides using a finite element approach

Abstract

This work investigates structural wave propagation in one dimensional waveguides with randomly varying properties along the axis of propagation, specifically when the properties vary slowly enough such that there is negligible backscattering, even if the net change is large. Wave-based methods are typically applied to homogeneous waveguides but the WKB (after Wentzel, Kramers and Brillouin) approximation can be used to find a suitable generalisation of the wave solution in terms of the change of phase and amplitude but is restricted to analytical solutions. A wave and finite element (WFE) approach is proposed to extend the applicability of the WKB method to cases where no analytical solution of the equations of motion is available. The wavenumber is expressed as a function of the position along the waveguide. A Gauss-Legendre quadrature scheme is subsequently used to obtain the phase change, while the wave amplitude is calculated using conservation of power. The WFE method is used to evaluate the wavenumbers at each integration point. Moreover, spatially correlated randomness can be included in the formulation by random field properties and in this paper is expressed by a Karhunen-Loève expansion. Numerical examples are compared to a standard FE approach and to available analytical solutions. They show good agreement when compared to either a full FE or analytical solution and require only a few WFE evaluations, providing a suitable framework for efficient stochastic analysis in waveguides.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Neil Ferguson: orcid.org/0000-0001-5955-7477

ORCID for Brian Mace: orcid.org/0000-0003-3312-4918

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