Elastic wedge waves

Abstract

Linearly elastic waves travelling along a wedge tip are nondispersive, so that, in nonlinear waves, constructive interaction between any pairs of frequencies may be substantial. The interaction coefficients depend critically on the structure of the linearized modes. This account describes some general features of the mode structure, shows how an asymptotic analysis for slender wedges incorporates the predictions of M cK enna et al. from thin plate theory, and outlines how, for obtuse wedges, the mode structure distant from the tip is a laterally attenuated, perturbed Rayleigh wave.