Abstract
A new finite element method for the analysis of surface wave problems is presented in this paper. The characteristic of this method is that the interpolation equation is selected to satisfy the Helmholtz equation in each element. This follows that the variational functional to be minimized can be formulated as in the form that all integrations are limited just on the boundary of the element. The numerical solutions obtained are compared with the analytical and observed results. From these comparative studies, it is concluded that the present method provides a useful and valuable tool for the analysis of surface wave problems.
