Wave propagation in unbounded elastic domains using the spectral element method: formulation

The objective of the present paper is to review and implement the most recent developments in the Spectral Element Method (SEM), as well as improve aspects of its implementation in the study of wave propagation by numerical simulation in elastic unbounded domains. The classical formulation of the method is reviewed, and the construction of the mass matrix, stiffness matrix and the external force vector is expressed in terms of matrix operations that are familiar to earthquake engineers. To account for the radiation condition at the external boundaries of the domain, a new absorbing boundary condition, based on the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) is proposed and implemented. The new formulation, referred to as the Multi-Axial Perfectly Matched Layer (M-PML), results from generalizing the classical Perfectly Matched Layer to a medium in which damping profiles are specified in more than one direction.