Modelling Seismic Wave Propagation for Geophysical Imaging

International audienceThe Earth is an heterogeneous complex media from the mineral composition scale (10−6m) to the global scale ( 106m). The reconstruction of its structure is a quite challenging problem because sampling methodologies are mainly indirect as potential methods (Günther et al., 2006; Rücker et al., 2006), diffusive methods (Cognon, 1971; Druskin & Knizhnerman, 1988; Goldman & Stover, 1983; Hohmann, 1988; Kuo & Cho, 1980; Oristaglio & Hohmann, 1984) or propagation methods (Alterman & Karal, 1968; Bolt & Smith, 1976; Dablain, 1986; Kelly et al., 1976; Levander, 1988; Marfurt, 1984; Virieux, 1986). Seismic waves belong to the last category. We shall concentrate in this chapter on the forward problem which will be at the heart of any inverse problem for imaging the Earth. The forward problem is dedicated to the estimation of seismic wavefields when one knows the medium properties while the inverse problem is devoted to the estimation of medium properties from recorded seismic wavefields

An adaptive finite element method for high-frequency scattering problems with variable coefficients

We introduce a new method for the numerical approximation of time-harmonic acoustic scattering problems stemming from material inhomogeneities. The method works for any frequency $\omega$, but is especially efficient for high-frequency problems. It is based on a time-domain approach and consists of three steps: \emph{i)} computation of a suitable incoming plane wavelet with compact support in the propagation direction; \emph{ii)} solving a scattering problem in the time domain for the incoming plane wavelet; \emph{iii)} reconstruction of the time-harmonic solution from the time-domain solution via a Fourier transform in time. An essential ingredient of the new method is a front-tracking mesh adaptation algorithm for solving the problem in \emph{ii)}. By exploiting the limited support of the wave front, this allows us to make the number of the required degrees of freedom to reach a given accuracy significantly less dependent on the frequency $\omega$, as shown in the numerical experiments. We also present a new algorithm for computing the Fourier transform in \emph{iii)} that exploits the reduced number of degrees of freedom corresponding to the adapted meshes

A summary of my twenty years of research according to Google Scholars

I am David Pardo, a researcher from Spain working mainly on numerical analysis applied to geophysics. I am 40 years old, and over a decade ago, I realized that my performance as a researcher was mainly evaluated based on a number called \h-index". This single number contains simultaneously information about the number of publications and received citations. However, dif- ferent h-indices associated to my name appeared in di erent webpages. A quick search allowed me to nd the most convenient (largest) h-index in my case. It corresponded to Google Scholars. In this work, I naively analyze a few curious facts I found about my Google Scholars and, at the same time, this manuscript serves as an experiment to see if it may serve to increase my Google Scholars h-index

3D hp-adaptive finite element simulations of a magic-T electromagnetic waveguide structure

This paper employs a 3D hp self-adaptive grid-refinement finite element strategy for the solution of a particular electromagnetic waveguide structure known as Magic-T. This structure is utilized as a power divider/combiner in communication systems as well as in other applications. It often incorporates dielectrics, metallic screws, round corners, and so on, which may facilitate its construction or improve its design, but significantly difficult its modeling when employing semi-analytical techniques. The hp-adaptive finite element method enables accurate modeling of a Magic-T structure even in the presence of these undesired materials/geometries. Numerical results demonstrate the suitability of the hp-adaptive method for modeling a Magic-T rectangular waveguide structure, delivering errors below 0.5% with a limited number of unknowns. Solutions of waveguide problems delivered by the self-adaptive hp-FEM are comparable to those obtained with semi-analytical techniques such as the Mode Matching method, for problems where the latest methods can be applied. At the same time, the hp-adaptive FEM enables accurate modeling of more complex waveguide structures

A summary of my twenty years of research according to Google Scholars

I am David Pardo, a researcher from Spain working mainly on numerical analysis applied to geophysics. I am 40 years old, and over a decade ago, I realized that my performance as a researcher was mainly evaluated based on a number called \h-index". This single number contains simultaneously information about the number of publications and received citations. However, dif- ferent h-indices associated to my name appeared in di erent webpages. A quick search allowed me to nd the most convenient (largest) h-index in my case. It corresponded to Google Scholars. In this work, I naively analyze a few curious facts I found about my Google Scholars and, at the same time, this manuscript serves as an experiment to see if it may serve to increase my Google Scholars h-index

Sparse Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Methods and their applications

In a number of previous papers, local (coarse grid) multiscale model reduction techniques are developed using a Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Method. In these approaches, multiscale basis functions are constructed using local snapshot spaces, where a snapshot space is a large space that represents the solution behavior in a coarse block. In a number of applications (e.g., those discussed in the paper), one may have a sparsity in the snapshot space for an appropriate choice of a snapshot space. More precisely, the solution may only involve a portion of the snapshot space. In this case, one can use sparsity techniques to identify multiscale basis functions. In this paper, we consider two such sparse local multiscale model reduction approaches. In the first approach (which is used for parameter-dependent multiscale PDEs), we use local minimization techniques, such as sparse POD, to identify multiscale basis functions, which are sparse in the snapshot space. These minimization techniques use $l_1$ minimization to find local multiscale basis functions, which are further used for finding the solution. In the second approach (which is used for the Helmholtz equation), we directly apply $l_1$ minimization techniques to solve the underlying PDEs. This approach is more expensive as it involves a large snapshot space; however, in this example, we can not identify a local minimization principle, such as local generalized SVD

Comparison of solvers performance when solving the 3D Helmholtz elastic wave equations using the Hybridizable Discontinuous Galerkin method

International audienc

Simulation de la propagation d'ondes élastiques en domaine fréquentiel par des méthodes Galerkine discontinues

The scientific context of this thesis is seismic imaging which aims at recovering the structure of the earth. As the drilling is expensive, the petroleum industry is interested by methods able to reconstruct images of the internal structures of the earth before the drilling. The most used seismic imaging method in petroleum industry is the seismic-reflection technique which uses a wave equation model. Seismic imaging is an inverse problem which requires to solve a large number of forward problems. In this context, we are interested in this thesis in the modeling part, i.e. the resolution of the forward problem, assuming a time-harmonic regime, leading to the so-called Helmholtz equations. The main objective is to propose and develop a new finite element (FE) type solver characterized by a reduced-size discrete operator (as compared to existing such solvers) without hampering the accuracy of the numerical solution. We consider the family of discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods. However, as classical DG methods are much more expensive than continuous FE methods when considering steady-like problems, because of an increased number of coupled degrees of freedom as a result of the discontinuity of the approximation, we develop a new form of DG method that specifically address this issue: the hybridizable DG (HDG) method. To validate the efficiency of the proposed HDG method, we compare the results that we obtain with those of a classical upwind flux-based DG method in a 2D framework. Then, as petroleum industry is interested in the treatment of real data, we develop the HDG method for the 3D elastic Helmholtz equations.Le contexte scientifique de cette thèse est l'imagerie sismique dont le but est de reconstituer la structure du sous-sol de la Terre. Comme le forage a un coût assez élevé, l'industrie pétrolière s'intéresse à des méthodes capables de reconstituer les images de la structure terrestre interne avant de le faire. La technique d'imagerie sismique la plus utilisée est la technique de sismique-réflexion qui est basée sur le modèle de l'équation d'ondes. L'imagerie sismique est un problème inverse qui requiert de résoudre un grand nombre de problèmes directs. Dans ce contexte, nous nous intéressons dans cette thèse à la résolution du problème direct en régime harmonique, soit à la résolution des équations d'Helmholtz. L'objectif principal est de proposer et de développer un nouveau type de solveur élément fini (EF) caractérisé par un opérateur discret de taille réduite (comparée à la taille des solveurs déjà existants) sans pour autant altérer la précision de la solution numérique. Nous considérons les méthodes de Galerkine discontinues (DG). Comme les méthodes DG classiques sont plus coûteuses que les méthodes EF continues si l'on considère un même problème à cause d'un grand nombre de degrés de liberté couplés, résultat des approximations discontinues, nous développons une nouvelle classe de méthode DG réduisant ce problème : la méthode DG hybride (HDG). Pour valider l'efficacité de la méthode HDG proposée, nous comparons les résultats obtenus avec ceux obtenus avec une méthode DG basée sur des flux décentrés en 2D. Comme l'industrie pétrolière s'intéresse au traitement de données réelles, nous développons ensuite la méthode HDG pour les équations élastiques d'Helmholtz 3D

Bending vibration prediction of orthotropic plate with wave-based method

A novel numerical predictive approach for steady-state response of thin orthotropic plate is presented based on wave-based method (WBM) that is applied in bending vibration prediction of thin and thick plate in mid-frequency range. The wavenumber parameters for orthotropic material and the particular solution of an infinite orthotropic plate with Fourier transform are derived. The proposed method is validated by numerical examples with simply supported boundary and clamped boundary. The compared result shows that the computational accuracy and efficiency of WBM is significantly higher than element based method, which is the ability of WBM for mid-frequency problems. The predictive ability of WBM is extended to process the dynamic response of orthotropic plate

Space-time Methods for Time-dependent Partial Differential Equations

Modern discretizations of time-dependent PDEs consider the full problem in the space-time cylinder and aim to overcome limitations of classical approaches such as the method of lines (first discretize in space and then solve the resulting ODE) and the Rothe method (first discretize in time and then solve the PDE). A main advantage of a holistic space-time method is the direct access to space-time adaptivity and to the backward problem (required for the dual problem in optimization or error control). Moreover, this allows for parallel solution strategies simultaneously in time and space. Several space-time concepts where proposed (different conforming and nonconforming space-time finite elements, the parareal method, wavefront relaxation etc.) but this topic has become a rapidly growing field in numerical analysis and scientific computing. In this workshop the focus is the development of adaptive and flexible space-time discretization methods for solving parabolic and hyperbolic space-time partial differential equations