FINITE-ELEMENT SOLUTION FOR WAVE-PROPAGATION IN LAYERED FLUIDS

A hyperbolic equation is considered for the propagation of pressure di sturbance waves in layered fluids having different fluid properties. F or acoustic problems of this sort,,the characteristic finite element m odel alone does not suffice to ensure prediction of the monotonic wave profile across fluids having different properties. A flux corrected t ransport solution algorithm is intended for incorporation into the und erlying Taylor-Galerkin finite element framework. The advantage of thi s finite element approach, in addition to permitting oscillation-free solutions, is that it avoids the necessity of dealing with medium disc ontinuity. As an analysis tool, the proposed monotonic finite element model has been intensively verified through problems which are amenabl e to analytic solutions. In modeling wave propagation in layered fluid s, we have investigated the influence of the degree of medium change o n the finite element solutions. Also, different finite element solutio ns are considered to show the superiority of using the flux corrected transport Taylor-Galerkin finite element model.