Influence of rigid boundary on the propagation of torsional surface wave in an inhomogeneous layer

Abstract

The present work illustrates a theoretical study on the effect of rigid boundary for the propagation of torsional surface wave in an inhomogeneous crustal layer over an inhomogeneous half space. It is believed that the inhomogeneity in the half space arises due to hyperbolic variation in shear modulus and density whereas the layer has linear variation in shear modulus and density. The dispersion equation has been obtained in a closed form by using Whittaker’s function, which shows the variation of phase velocity with corresponding wave number. Numerical results show the dispersion equations, which are discussed and presented by means of graphs. Results in some special cases are also compared with existing solutions available from analytical methods, which show a close resemblance. It is also observed that, for a layer over a homogeneous half space, the velocity of torsional waves does not coincide with that of Love waves in the presence of the rigid boundary, whereas it does at the free boundary. Graphical user interface (GUI) software has been developed using MATLAB 7.5 to generalize the effect of various parameter discussed.