Torsional wave in an inhomogeneous prestressed elastic layer overlying an inhomogeneous elastic half-space under the effect of rigid boundary

Abstract

An investigation has been carried out for the propagation of torsional surface waves in an inhomogeneous prestressed layer over an inhomogeneous half space when the upper boundary plane is assumed to be rigid. The inhomogeneity in density, initial stress (tensile and compressional) and rigidity are taken as an arbitrary function of depth, where as for the elastic half space, the inhomogeneity in density and rigidity is hyperbolic function of depth. In the absence of heterogeneities of medium, the results obtained are in agreement with the same results obtained by other relevant researchers. Numerically, it is observed that the velocity of torsional wave changes remarkably with the presence of inhomogeneity parameter of the layer. Curves are compared with the corresponding curve of standard classical elastic case. The results may be useful to understand the nature of seismic wave propagation in geophysical applications.