Localized Boundary Integral Equation-Discrete Wavenumber Method for Simulating Wave Propagation in Irregular Multiple Layers, Part II: Validation and Application

Abstract

In the present study, the localized boundary integral equation–discrete wavenumber method ( lo BIE–DWM) obtained in a companion article (Zhou and Chen, 2009) is validated. For SH waves our results are tested by comparing them with Cao’s (Cao, 2003), while for P - SV waves they are compared with Kawase’s (Kawase and Aki, 1989). The good agreement demonstrated that the method has the same accuracy as other methods. We subsequently used this method to synthesize wave propagation in two examples and discuss the effects of irregular interfaces. Finally, we synthesized the velocity records at the Baijiatuan station due to the Zhangbei earthquake to demonstrate the ability of the lo BIE–DWM to handle the problem with the long epicenter distance. In order to help understand the formulation of the lo BIE–DWM, the numerical implementation and efficiency analysis for a simple example are given.