Influence of Initial Stress on Love Wave Propagation in Composite Structures

PurposeThis study analyzed the impact of initial stresses on the propagation of Love-type waves in a fiber-reinforced viscoelastic layer situated between an isotropic inhomogeneous half-space and an orthotropic viscoelastic layer. The aim of the purposed work is to investigate how various factors such as initial stresses, viscoelastic properties, thickness ratio, inhomogeneity, and reinforcement affect wave propagation in the layered structure.MethodsThe separable variable method is used to obtain the displacement components for the considered layers and half-space. By applying suitable boundary conditions, the dispersion relation for Love-type wave propagation derived. The dispersion relation was then examined for different cases, considering factors such as initial stresses, viscoelastic properties, thickness ratio, inhomogeneity, and reinforcement equal to zero. Numerical computations were performed using the MATHEMATICA software, and the results were graphically depicted.ResultsThe study successfully obtained the dispersion curves, which illustrated the influence of various parameters on Love-type wave propagation. The results showed how initial stresses, viscoelastic properties, thickness ratio, inhomogeneity, and reinforcement affected the wave propagation behavior.ConclusionThe findings of the study confirmed the validity of the mathematical model developed in this study, as the derived dispersion relation simplified the pre-existing velocity wave equation for Love waves. The analysis of dispersion curves demonstrated the significant effects of initial stresses and other parameters on the phase and damping velocity of the Love-type wave in the fiber-reinforced viscoelastic layer. The study enhances our understanding of Love wave propagation and its practical applications in structural engineering, earthquake engineering, non-destructive testing, material science, and geophysics.