Template:Separation of variables in cylindrical coordinates in finite depth
The solution of the problem for the potential in finite water depth can be found by a separation ansatz,
[math]\displaystyle{ \phi (r,\theta,z) =: Y(r,\theta) Z(z).\, }[/math]
Substituting this into the equation for [math]\displaystyle{ \phi }[/math] yields
[math]\displaystyle{ \frac{1}{Y(r,\theta)} \left[ \frac{1}{r} \frac{\partial}{\partial r} \left( r \frac{\partial Y}{\partial r} \right) + \frac{1}{r^2} \frac{\partial^2 Y}{\partial \theta^2} \right] = - \frac{1}{Z(z)} \frac{\mathrm{d}^2 Z}{\mathrm{d} z^2} = k^2. }[/math]
The possible separation constants [math]\displaystyle{ k }[/math] will be determined by the free surface condition and the bed condition.
Separation of variables for a free surface
We use separation of variables
We express the potential as
[math]\displaystyle{ \phi(x,z) = X(x)Z(z)\, }[/math]
and then Laplace's equation becomes
[math]\displaystyle{ \frac{X^{\prime\prime}}{X} = - \frac{Z^{\prime\prime}}{Z} = k^2 }[/math]
The separation of variables equation for deriving free surface eigenfunctions is as follows:
[math]\displaystyle{ Z^{\prime\prime} + k^2 Z =0. }[/math]
subject to the boundary conditions
[math]\displaystyle{ Z^{\prime}(-h) = 0 }[/math]
and
[math]\displaystyle{ Z^{\prime}(0) = \alpha Z(0) }[/math]
We can then use the boundary condition at [math]\displaystyle{ z=-h \, }[/math] to write
[math]\displaystyle{ Z = \frac{\cos k(z+h)}{\cos kh} }[/math]
where we have chosen the value of the coefficent so we have unit value at [math]\displaystyle{ z=0 }[/math]. The boundary condition at the free surface ([math]\displaystyle{ z=0 \, }[/math]) gives rise to:
which is the Dispersion Relation for a Free Surface
The above equation is a transcendental equation. If we solve for all roots in the complex plane we find that the first root is a pair of imaginary roots. We denote the imaginary solutions of this equation by [math]\displaystyle{ k_{0}=\pm ik \, }[/math] and the positive real solutions by [math]\displaystyle{ k_{m} \, }[/math], [math]\displaystyle{ m\geq1 }[/math]. The [math]\displaystyle{ k \, }[/math] of the imaginary solution is the wavenumber. We put the imaginary roots back into the equation above and use the hyperbolic relations
[math]\displaystyle{ \cos ix = \cosh x, \quad \sin ix = i\sinh x, }[/math]
to arrive at the dispersion relation
[math]\displaystyle{ \alpha = k\tanh kh. }[/math]
We note that for a specified frequency [math]\displaystyle{ \omega \, }[/math] the equation determines the wavenumber [math]\displaystyle{ k \, }[/math].
Finally we define the function [math]\displaystyle{ Z(z) \, }[/math] as
[math]\displaystyle{ \chi_{m}\left( z\right) =\frac{\cos k_{m}(z+h)}{\cos k_{m}h},\quad m\geq0 }[/math]
as the vertical eigenfunction of the potential in the open water region. From Sturm-Liouville theory the vertical eigenfunctions are orthogonal. They can be normalised to be orthonormal, but this has no advantages for a numerical implementation. It can be shown that
[math]\displaystyle{ \int\nolimits_{-h}^{0}\chi_{m}(z)\chi_{n}(z) \mathrm{d} z=A_{n}\delta_{mn} }[/math]
where
[math]\displaystyle{ A_{n}=\frac{1}{2}\left( \frac{\cos k_{n}h\sin k_{n}h+k_{n}h}{k_{n}\cos ^{2}k_{n}h}\right). }[/math]
Separation of Variable for the [math]\displaystyle{ r }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ \theta }[/math] coordinates
For the solution of
[math]\displaystyle{ \frac{1}{r} \frac{\partial}{\partial r} \left( r \frac{\partial Y}{\partial r} \right) + \frac{1}{r^2} \frac{\partial^2 Y}{\partial \theta^2} = k_m^2 Y(r,\theta), }[/math]
we use the separation
[math]\displaystyle{ \,\!Y(r,\theta) =: R(r) \Theta(\theta). }[/math]
Substituting this into Laplace's equation yields
[math]\displaystyle{ \frac{r^2}{R(r)} \left[ \frac{1}{r} \frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}r} \left( r \frac{\mathrm{d} R}{\mathrm{d}r} \right) - k_m^2 R(r) \right] = - \frac{1}{\Theta (\theta)} \frac{\mathrm{d}^2 \Theta}{\mathrm{d} \theta^2} = \eta^2, }[/math]
where the separation constant [math]\displaystyle{ \eta }[/math] must be an integer, say [math]\displaystyle{ \nu }[/math], in order for the potential to be continuous. [math]\displaystyle{ \Theta (\theta) }[/math] can therefore be expressed as
[math]\displaystyle{ \Theta (\theta) = C \, \mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i} \nu \theta}, \quad \nu \in \mathbb{Z}. }[/math]
We also obtain the following expression
[math]\displaystyle{ r \frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}r} \left( r \frac{\mathrm{d} R}{\mathrm{d} r} \right) - (\nu^2 + k_m^2 r^2) R(r) = 0, \quad \nu \in \mathbb{Z}. }[/math]
Substituting [math]\displaystyle{ \tilde{r}:=k_m r }[/math] and writing [math]\displaystyle{ \tilde{R} (\tilde{r}) := R(\tilde{r}/k_m) = R(r) }[/math], this can be rewritten as
[math]\displaystyle{ \tilde{r}^2 \frac{\mathrm{d}^2 \tilde{R}}{\mathrm{d} \tilde{r}^2} + \tilde{r} \frac{\mathrm{d} \tilde{R}}{\mathrm{d} \tilde{r}} - (\nu^2 + \tilde{r}^2)\, \tilde{R} = 0, \quad \nu \in \mathbb{Z}, }[/math]
which is the modified version of Bessel's equation. Substituting back, the general solution is given by
[math]\displaystyle{ R(r) = D_\nu \, I_\nu(k_m r) + E_\nu \, K_\nu(k_m r),\ \nu \in \mathbb{Z}, }[/math]
where [math]\displaystyle{ I_\nu }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ K_\nu }[/math] are the modified Bessel functions of the first and second kind, respectively, of order [math]\displaystyle{ \nu }[/math].
Note that [math]\displaystyle{ K_\nu (\mathrm{i} x) = \pi / 2\,\, \mathrm{i}^{\nu+1} H_\nu^{(2)}(x) }[/math] with [math]\displaystyle{ H_\nu^{(2)} }[/math] denoting the Hankel function of the second kind of order [math]\displaystyle{ \nu }[/math]. Also, [math]\displaystyle{ I_\nu }[/math] does not satisfy the Sommerfeld Radiation Condition since it becomes unbounded for increasing real argument and it represents incoming waves.
