A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave Scattering

The convergence of two numerical methods for solving linear water wave scattering problems, namely the eigenfunction matching method (EMM) and the singularity-respecting Galerkin approximation (SRGA), is examined. To do so, the methods are applied to two simple problems, namely scattering by a parti...

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Main Authors: Ben Wilks, Michael H. Meylan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/3/398
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author Ben Wilks
Michael H. Meylan
author_facet Ben Wilks
Michael H. Meylan
author_sort Ben Wilks
collection DOAJ
description The convergence of two numerical methods for solving linear water wave scattering problems, namely the eigenfunction matching method (EMM) and the singularity-respecting Galerkin approximation (SRGA), is examined. To do so, the methods are applied to two simple problems, namely scattering by a partially submerged vertical barrier and scattering in a parallel walled channel with a step change in width. These problems contain corner singularities in the velocity potential of order <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, respectively, which the SRGA accounts for but EMMs do not. The results presented to compare the methods show that SRGA solutions are consistently more accurate than EMM solutions for the same amount of computing time. The results also show that the EMM solution for the channel problem is more accurate than the EMM solution for the vertical barrier problem due to the weaker singularity. Nevertheless, the EMM for the barrier is shown to still converge beyond three decimal places if a sufficiently large matrix is used—slower computation may be a worthwhile trade-off in certain situations because the EMM is usually considered to be more straightforward to implement. Our results serve as a practical guide for researchers selecting between the numerical methods.
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spelling doaj-art-3f2f3889286f401b9a995209db3aef102025-08-20T01:48:41ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-02-0113339810.3390/jmse13030398A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave ScatteringBen Wilks0Michael H. Meylan1School of Information and Physical Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, AustraliaSchool of Information and Physical Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, AustraliaThe convergence of two numerical methods for solving linear water wave scattering problems, namely the eigenfunction matching method (EMM) and the singularity-respecting Galerkin approximation (SRGA), is examined. To do so, the methods are applied to two simple problems, namely scattering by a partially submerged vertical barrier and scattering in a parallel walled channel with a step change in width. These problems contain corner singularities in the velocity potential of order <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1</mn><mo>/</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, respectively, which the SRGA accounts for but EMMs do not. The results presented to compare the methods show that SRGA solutions are consistently more accurate than EMM solutions for the same amount of computing time. The results also show that the EMM solution for the channel problem is more accurate than the EMM solution for the vertical barrier problem due to the weaker singularity. Nevertheless, the EMM for the barrier is shown to still converge beyond three decimal places if a sufficiently large matrix is used—slower computation may be a worthwhile trade-off in certain situations because the EMM is usually considered to be more straightforward to implement. Our results serve as a practical guide for researchers selecting between the numerical methods.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/3/398eigenfunction matching methodGalerkin method
spellingShingle Ben Wilks
Michael H. Meylan
A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave Scattering
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
eigenfunction matching method
Galerkin method
title A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave Scattering
title_full A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave Scattering
title_fullStr A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave Scattering
title_full_unstemmed A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave Scattering
title_short A Numerical Comparison of Eigenfunction Matching and Singularity-Respecting Galerkin Approximation Methods for Linear Water Wave Scattering
title_sort numerical comparison of eigenfunction matching and singularity respecting galerkin approximation methods for linear water wave scattering
topic eigenfunction matching method
Galerkin method
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/3/398
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