The DtN nonreflecting boundary condition for multiple scattering problems in the half-plane

Abstract The multiple-Dirichlet-to-Neumann (multiple-DtN) non-reflecting boundary condition is adapted to acoustic scattering from obstacles embedded in the half-plane. The multiple-DtN map is coupled with the method of images as an alternative model for multiple acoustic scattering in the presence of acoustically soft and hard plane boundaries. As opposed to the current practice of enclosing all obstacles with a large semicircular artificial boundary that contains portion of the plane boundary, the proposed technique uses small artificial circular boundaries that only enclose the immediate vicinity of each obstacle in the half-plane. The adapted multiple-DtN condition is simultaneously imposed in each of the artificial circular boundaries. As a result the computational effort is significantly reduced. A computationally advantageous boundary value problem is numerically solved with a finite difference method supported on boundary-fitted grids. Approximate solutions to problems involving two scatterers of arbitrary geometry are presented. The proposed numerical method is validated by comparing the approximate and exact far-field patterns for the scattering from a single and from two circular obstacles in the half-plane.