INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, VOL.

12,331-351 (1978)

TWO STEP EXPLICIT FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR

TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS

MATSCTO KAWAHARA,t NOR10 TAKEUCHIS AND TAKAHARU YOSHIDAS

Department of Civil Engineering, Chuo University, Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

SUMMARY
Numerical analysis of tsunamis applying the finite element method is presented based on the shallow
water wave equation. To discretize time, a two step explicit method is used. The scheme is the extension
of the Lax-Wendroff finite difference method. The present finite element method is used for the analysis
of the Tokachi-oki Earthquake tsunami problem and compared with the tide gauge records. The
conclusion of this paper is that the present method is suitable for the prediction of the tsunami wave
propagation problem.

INTRODUCTION
'Tsunami', a Japanese term literally meaning tide-wave, is a sort of shock wave created by an
earthquake occurring in a deep sea bottom. The sudden rise in sea level above the seismic
centre due to deformation of the sea bottom caused by such an earthquake generates a
tsunami and a tsunami wave is propagated towards the coast. In the past, tsunamis have often
swept the coast of Japan causing tremendous damage to property. Prediction of tsunami
generation and propagation is, therefore, a very important means of protecting human lives
and minimizing damage from tsunami.
The governing equation of tsunami wave propagation is described by the shallow water
wave theory. The tsunami has already been analyzed numerically by Aida''2 using the finite
difference method. In recent years, several finite element methods have been presented
discussing the shallow water wave equation. Grotkop6 has presented the method of discretiz-
ing both space and time functions using the finite element method. Cullen3 has employed a
leap-frog scheme to discretize the time function. Gallagher and Chang4'5 have analyzed lake
circulation problems. The isoparametric finite elements have been employed by Taylor and
Davis*.', in which the Runge-Kutta scheme is recommended for the numerical integration in
time. Fix7 has presented the finite elements of the shallow water wave problem using potential
function. Weare" has discussed the relative economies of finite elements and finite
differences.
In this paper, numerical analysis of the tsunami applying the finite element method is
presented based on the shallow water wave equations and neglecting the Coriolis force for
simplicity. When the tsunami wave propagates through the water surface of the deep sea, the
inertia term may be neglected. Following the conventional Galerkin procedures, the finite
element method is applied to space functions of velocity and tide elevation. The interpolation

t Associate Professor.
$ Graduate Student.

0029-5981 /78/0212-033 1 $01 .OO Received 1 September 1976

@ 1978 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Revised 2 June 1977
33 1
332 M. KAWAHARA, N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

function is a linear polynomial based on the three node triangular finite element. To discretize
time, a two step explicit method is used. The scheme is an extension of the Lax-Wendroff finite
difference method and referred to as the ‘Lax-Wendroff finite element method’. Some test
examples are obtained to compare them with the solutions by the finite difference method and
analytical method. For the analysis of the Tokachi-oki Earthquake tsunami problem, the
present Lax-Wendroff finite element method is used. Comparing its results with the tide gauge
records, it is concluded that the present finite element method is suitable to the prediction of
the tsunami wave propagation problem.

BASIC EQUATIONS
According to the shallow water wave theory, the basic equations of tsunami propagation are
derived by integrating the Euler equation over the depth of the sea, i.e., equation of motion:

and equation of continuity:

in which
Mi = ( H + h -b)ui (3)
where ui and h denote velocity and tide elevation and H and g are sea depth and gravity
acceleration respectively. As is shown in Figure 1, the bottom upheaval of the sea in the

surface

fundamental
tide level

Figure 1. &-ordinate system

seismic centre region is represented by b. Here and henceforth, the usual summation con-
vention with repeated indices is used. In equations (1) and (2), Coriolis force and bottom
friction effects are neglected, which have slight influence on the tsunami behaviour.
When tsunamis propagate through the water surface of the deep sea, the effect of the
convection term is negligibly small. Thus, the equation of motion is transformed into:

%at+ g ( H + h - b ) h , i = O (4)

The basic equations of tsunami propagation in the deep sea including the seismic centre
region, are expressed by equations (4),(2) and (3). When the tsunami approaches the land,
however, the effect of convection terms should be considered in the basic equations. Neglec-
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 333

ting higher order effects, equations (1)-(3) are transformed into the following forms.

at
%+{(Id + h)ui).i= 0
in which b = 0 since the tsunami wave has propagated far from the seismic centre.
As the boundary conditions, the velocity is assumed to be known on the boundary Si,i.e.,
u. = u.
A1 on S1 (7)
and the tide elevation is prescribed on the boundary S2,

h = 6 on Sz (8)
,.
where superposed denotes prescribed value on the boundary. As the initial conditions,
considering the tsunami is induced by the deformation of the sea bottom, the tide elevation is
assumed to take the same shape as the upheaval of the sea bottom:
h = A o at t=O
ui=iio at t = O

Following the conventional finite element Galerkin method, weighted residual equations are
derived. For the tsunami in deep sea, M iand h are chosen as the field variables. Weighted
residual equations are obtained employing weighting functions M? and h *.

(Mi* $!)d V + lv{M?g(H +h -b)h,i} d V =0

lv{ h * y } dV+lv(h*M,,i)dV=O

For a tsunami near the land, zii and h are employed as the field variables. Weighted residual
equations are obtained using weighting functions u? and h*.

lv( h*$) d V + l v [ h * { ( H + h)ui},Jd V = 0

FINITE ELEMENT EQUATIONS

It is assumed that the field to be analyzed is divided into small regions called finite elements.
For a tsunami in the deep sea, let the interpolating equations for Miand h in each finite
element be expressed as:

where QtXand denote the interpolation functions for Mi and h respectively, M,i is the
nodal value of Mi at uth node of each finite element and hA is the nodal value of h at the hth
334 M. KAWAHARA. N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

node. For weighting functions Mi* and h*, relations similar to equations (15) and (16) are
employed in the following forms.
Mi* = @,M; (17)
h* =*Ah? (18)

Introducing equations ( I 5)-( 18) into equations (11)-(12) and considering the arbitrariness of
MZ and h,* lead to the finite element governing equation as follows.

where

To derive equation (19), H and b are also interpolated using the same relation as in equation
(16), i.e.,

For a tsunami near the land, consider the interpolating equations and weighting equations in
the following forms:
ui = aauai (23)
h =T A h A (24)
u* = @&:i (25)
h" = WAh: (26)
where @a and WA are interpolation functions for ui and h respectively and uai and hA are the
nodal values of u, and h respectively. In the numerical computation of this paper, the same
function is used as the interpolation function @a in equation (15) and equation (23). Introduc-
ing equations (23)-(26) into equations (13) and (14) and rearranging the equations lead to the
finite element equations in the following form.
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 335

where

and other terms being equal as in equations (1 9) and (20).

Using the conventional finite element superposition procedure, the finite element governing
equations for the whole field are written as follows.
For a tsunami in the deep sea:

In equations (29)-(32) and henceforth, M,, ua and hA are unknown variables in the whole
field, and HA and bA represent the depth of the sea and bottom upheaval at each nodal point.
In the numerical computations of this paper, a three node triangle is used. Therefore, the
linear polynomial function is introduced for both interpolation functions and 'PA.

NUMERICAL INTEGRATION IN TIME

To solve equations (29) and (30) or equations (31) and (32), a numerical integration scheme in
time must be introduced. The scheme employed in this paper is the two step explicit scheme.
The basic idea is the same as that of the Lax-Wendroff finite difference method. Consider a
function f(t) and its Taylor expansion:

At2
f ( t + A t ) = f ( t ) + A t . f ( t ) + - 2 ./(to+. . . (33)

where At is a short time increment. When the values of f ( t ) and f ( f ) are computed, the value of
f ( t + At) is obtained by using equation (33). Equation (33) can be divided into the following
two equations:
At
(34)

f(t+Af)=f(t)+At. (35)
 336 M . KAWAHARA, N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

This is the basic idea of the present two step scheme. Using equations (34) and ( 3 9 , it is not
necessary to compute the value of f ( t ) .Applying equations (34) and (35) to equations (29) and
(30), the following two step scheme can be obtained:
First step:

c A,
hr1+1/2-
, - CA,h;--.
At
DA,M,"+CA,(blf+'/2-b;) (37)
2
Second step:
= A,pMi - A t . BaA, (HA + h:+l/'
L%,&itl - b:+1/2)h,"+I/Z (38)
C;,h;" = CA,h;- A t . D*,M:+1/2- CA,(b;+' - b;) (39)
where superscript n means the value at the nth time step. Equations (36)-(39) are the pure
explicit scheme only if the lumped coefficient system is employed on the left hand side of the
equations. Superposed - denotes the lumped coefficient matrix.
Applying equations (34) and (35) to equations (31) and (32), the following two step scheme
can be derived.
First step:

Second step:

TEST EXAMPLES
To illustrate the adaptability of the present finite element method, several numerical examples
are discussed in this section. The first example is a one-dimensional bore problem compared
with the analytical solution and the finite difference method solution. The problem is purely
one-dimensional, however, to seek the adaptability of the method, the two-dimensional finite
element computer program is applied based on equations (40)-(43). Figure 2 shows the finite
element idealization of the one-dimensional channel. Hatched regions denote the boundary to

if
v v v Y v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v ~ v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v lx? N

m m mi um m m nu m m mr nm

Figure 2. Finite element idealization of one-dimensional channel

TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 337

0
II
4-
338 M. KAWAHAKA, N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

which normal velocity is assumed to be zero. On the boundary of both ends of the channel, no
quantity is enforced on velocity and tide elevation. Assuming an initial stepwise depth ( f = 0),
tide elevations at various times are computed and plotted in Figure 3 by solid lines. Analytical
solutions are also illustrated in the same figure by dotted lines. The computed wave front and
wave height are well in agreement with the analytical solution. In Figure 4, computed tide level
is compared with the results by the finite difference method of Vliegenthart" (dotted line).
Solutions by both the finite element and finite difference methods are fairly well in agreement.
In the numerical examples of Figures 3 and 4, as previously stated, no quantity is enforced
on velocity and tide elevation on the boundary of both ends of the channel. This condition
corresponds to that of a wave passing through the boundary outwardly. If the computation is
carried out further, it finally results in the stagnant free water surface under this boundary
condition.
The second example represents the testing of wave reflection. The numerical results are
obtained for the condition where the normal velocity on the boundary of both ends of the
channel is assumed to be zero. The computed tide elevations at various times are shown in
Figure 5. The reflection of the wave caused by the wall can be computed.
The third example illustrates tsunami generation using equations (36)-(39). The finite
element idealization employed in the computation is shown in Figure 6. Tsunami generation

Figure 4. Computed tide level by finite element method and finite difference method

(1)

(2)
1 -

t
0
= 1.0 sec.
( 4 )
( 5)
t - 3.0 set.

t = 4.0 s e ~ .

(3) t = 2.0%.

II
0 5 10
Figure 5. Computed wave reflection
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 339

- X

Figure 6. Finite element idealization

may be computed by assuming the gradual rise of the bottom of the hatched region until
t = 4 rnin and then released. The computed tide elevation of the nodal point at the seismic
centre is plotted in Figure 7 as compared with the analytical solution (dotted line) using a
circular model (Aida').

1 .o Analit,ical solution

0.5

in.)
0

-0.5

-1.0

Figure 7. Computed tide level

340 M. KAWAHARA, N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

\
Figure 8. Finite element idealization and water depth assumption
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 341

TOKACHI-OK1 TSUNAMI ANALYSIS

In 1968, a severe earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred about 150 km off the coast of the
Tokachi region. This earthquake is called the ‘Tokachi-oki Earthquake.’ Following
the tremor, a tsunami was generated which struck the coastal region of Northern Japan. In this
section, the tsunami wave propagation problem is analyzed by the present finite element
method. Figure 8 shows the finite element idealization of the regions to be analyzed. The total
number of nodal points are 1095 and the total number of finite elements are 2007. Along the
coastline, the reflection condition is used; namely, the normal velocity to the coastline is
assumed to be zero. Since the other boundary is an artificial one, the passing through boundary
condition is used. The region surrounded by dotted lines denotes the seismic centre region.
The contour lines represent the equi-depth line of the sea water. The seismic centre region is
assumed to deform suddenly as shown in Figure 9. Imposing the deformation shape as the
initial condition of the tide level, finite element computation can be performed using equations
(36)-(39). Figures 10-13 represent the computed equi-tide elevation line at various times after
the earthquake. Wave propagation can be seen clearly in the figures. At 1-75min after the
earthquake, the generated tsunami wave did not reach the coastal region (Figure 10). After a
time lapse of 7-10 min, the first tsunami wave struck the northern coastal region (Figure 11).
A second wave was generated and propagated towards the land at 18-22 min as illustrated in
Figure 12. As shown in Figure 13, the second tsunami wave reached the coast in 25 min after
the earthquake. Figure 14 exhibits the vertical state of tsunami wave propagation. Nodal point
No. 132 is one of the mid points of the seismic centre and nodal point No. 31 is the point
representing Miyako City. The state of wave propagation is shown along the straight line of
Nos. 132-31 in Figure 14. It was observed that the start of tsunami at Miyako City was 20 min
after the earthquake, This corresponds to the computed arrival time shown in Figure 14.

Figure 9. Bottom upheaval of seismic centre (m)

342 M. KAWAHARA. N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

--d 8
Q e

\
Figure 10. Equi-wave height line at 1.75 min past
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS

Figure 11. Equi-wave height line at 10.5 min past

344 M. KAWAHARA, N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

‘I
Figure 12. Equi-wave height line at 21.0 min past
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 34s

Figure 13. Equi-wave height line at 31-5min past

346 M. KAWAIIARA, N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

tide ;evel(m)

b . .
,-
.,..-..-,'i.f.-....+......-.
0 ,...---.--*.-- ...........
+----.---- 90 . - , -------.-.*- I?.I

'.. .
\
! 60
'. ?" I
I I
,L*' I
,/-.*. ~ NODE 7 6

I I N O C E ~ Oi

P-
,.' .r---..
".. sb...w-,P-*w*
..........
30 *..-
,
...............9@-, . IS(
----...........-..

-.d' .........
- - . ~'* *--
--- .... .....
-4-...--..--
w . 1 L., Ip(
P*- so C..*.-. --w---
w'
**.. %..-.'
fO'
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 347

Figure 15 shows the tide elevation change at various cities of North Japan. The irregular
coastline causes complicated wave patterns at different districts. Table I is the comparison of
the computed tide elevation with the tide gauge record (Aida'). For instance, at Kesen'numa
City, the tide gauge record shows a maximum tide record of 47cm for the first wave. The
computed tide elevation is 46 cm. At Miyako City, the tide gauge record shows a maximum
tide record of 140cm for the second wave. The computed result is 92cm. The computed
arrival time is also compared with the observed arrival time. From these numerical results, it
could be concluded that tsunami wave propagation can well be simulated by using the present
finite element method.
The time increment At was chosen to be At = 4 min in this analysis. The value satisfies the
von Neuman condition as:

where Ax is the representative finite element length and C is a constant which is taken to be
0.8 empirically. The running time of this analysis by the HITAC 8800/8700 computer is about

*
10 min using 60 KW computer core storage.
A more detailed computation is performed for Onagawa Bay using equations (40)-(43). The
finite element idealization and equi-depth line are shown in Figure 16. The previously
computed wave profile is enforced at the entrance of the Bay. On the boundary along the
coastline, the reflection condition is employed. The computed tide elevations at various towns
around Onagawa Bay are shown in Figure 17. The profiles of the change in tide elevation are

Table I. Comparison of numerical results with observed data

a1 ccmi I 02 cm) ai
-
Station F.E.M T.G.Rec

Kssen'numa - 66.3 1.68 0.69 I 45.5

Okkirai - 64.8 0.88

Miyoko 81.2 -140 -91.6 0.6 5

Hochinohs -23 1-21.3 I 135 79.3 -0.1 67

Muroran -2.5
I- 140. I 26 25.4 -0.0 98

Ura ka wa 80.3 -0.52

K ushiro -38.3 0.73

a i : Amplitudes o f the first half wove a2' Amplitudes of the second half wave

TI: Arivol time of the first h a l f wove T2: Arival time of the second half wave
T Period
 348 M. KAWAHARA, N. TAKEUCHI AND T. YOSHIDA

tide level ( m ) tde level (rn)

10. 10 -
MIYAKO KEKN’NUMA

0
trme
(min.) O -
-I 0 -I 0

tide level (m )
1.0 - ONAGAWA
1.0 .
tide level ( m )
OOWNATO

0 .
time
(min.)

-!.a -1.0

tide level ( m ) tide level (m)

. .
1.0 1.0~
NODA

-1.0 -1.0 1 1 I 1

Figure 15. Tsunami wave at various cities in North Japan

computed similar to that of the enforced input wave. The maximum values are shown to be
amplified. This can be attributed to the fact that tsunami had passed through the narrow part
of the bay.

CONCLUSION
This paper has presented the finite element method for tsunami wave propagation. To
discretize the time function, a two step explicit algorithm of the modified Lax-Wendroff finite
difference scheme was used which is called the ‘Lax-Wendroff finite element method.’ Com-
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 349

HIYAGI

4
Figure 16. Finite element idealization of Onagawa Bay

parisons of the solution by the present method with the solutions by the finite difference
method and analytical method have shown they are fairly well in agreement. Applying to the
Tokachi-oki Earthquake tsunami propagation problem and comparing with the observed data,
the present method is found to be suitable for the prediction of tsunami wave propagation
problems. There are some analogous problems such as tidal flow, flood tide, etc. For these
problems, the finite element method would also be a useful tool for analysis.
 350 M. KAWAHARA. N. TAKEUCHI A N D T. YOSHIDA

1.0 1.0 I-
NONOHAMA KOYADORI
I I

I
time time
(min.) O I- (mln.)

I I
-1.0 t ! I
tide level tm) tide Ievel(m)
1.0
~TAKASHIRO
1.0 - TAKEUDA
I
L

0 ' - time
(min )
the
Lmln.)

-I 0 - -1.0 4

tide level(m)

time
(rnln.)

various towns around Onagawa Bay

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful to Mr. Hiroshi Shimauchi, Hideo Ikeda and Shunsuke Omori, former
graduate students of Chuo University for their help in computer programming. 'The com-
putation in this paper has been accomplished by the HITAC 8800/8700 system of the
University of Tokyo.
 TSUNAMI WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS 351

REFERENCES
I . I. Aida, ‘Numerical experiments for the tsunami propagation-the 1964 Niigata tsunami and the 1968 Tokachi-
oki tsunami’, Bull. Earth. Res. Inst., Univ. Tokyo, 41, 673-700 (1969).
2. I. Aida, ‘Numerical experiments for tsunamis caused by moving deformations of sea bottom’, Bull. Earth. Res.
Insr., Univ. Tokyo, 47, 849-862 (1969).
3. M . J. P. Cullen, ‘A simple finite element method for meteorological problems’, J. Inst. Math. Appls. 11, 15-31
(1973).
4. R. H. Gallagher, J. A. Liggett and S. T. K. Chang, ‘Finite element shallow lake circulation analysis’, Roc. ASCE
99, 1083-1096 (1973).
5. R. H. Gallagher and S. T. K. Chang, ‘Higher-order finite element analysis of lake circulation’, Comp. Fluid 1,
119-132 (1973).
6. G. Grotkop, ‘Finite element analysis of long-period water waves’, Comp. Meth. Appl. Mech. Engng, 2, 147-157
(1973).
7 . G. J. Fix, ’Finite element models for ocean circulation’, S.Z.A.M. J. Appl. Math. 29, 371-387 (1975).
8. C. Taylor and J. M. Davis, ‘Tidal and long wave propagation-a finite element approach’, Comp. Fluid. 3,
125-148 (1975).
9. C.Taylor and J. M. Davis, ‘Tidal propagation and dispersion in estuaries’, Finite Elements in Fluids,Vol. 1, (Ed.
Gallagher, Oden, Taylor and Zienkiewiw), Wiley, London, 1975, pp. 95-1 18.
10. T. J. Weare, ‘Finite element or finite difference methods for the two-dimensional shallow water equations’, Comp.
Meth. Appl. Mech. Engng, 7 , 351-357 (1976).
11. A. C. Vliegenthart, ‘Dissipative difference schemes for shallow water equations’, J. Engng Math. 3, 81-94 (1969).