Stress wave propagation when the elastic coefficients vary with depth

Abstract

Of concern is the propagation of distortionless surface waves in a medium that may be nonuniform relative to depth. Distortionless wave propagation in inhomogeneous media was discussed by V. Burke, R. J. Duffin and D. Hazony, inQuart. Appl. Math., 183---194 (1976). Accordingly, the media could be modeled by a distributed electrical ladder network, nonuniform along the axis. We give a two-dimensional development based on Hooke's law and Newton's law which leads to the well-known case of Rayleigh waves in homogeneous media. It will be seen that the available pool of propagation modes greatly increases when high-pass propagation is included. The emphasis is on media where the elastic coefficients track one another as a function of depth. Special cases are studied in detail showing that as a disturbance travels along the surface, it may assume a broadband phase change, which translates into a shape distortion in the time domain, which is periodic with distance. Applications may be found in acousto-optics, in situ monitoring of elongated bodies, high-frequency SAW filters, microstrips, and any situations where surface waves are used in an environment of high precision or relatively large distances.