Formulas for the H/V ratio (ellipticity) of Rayleigh waves in orthotropic elastic half-spaces

This paper concerns the propagation of Rayleigh waves in compressible and incompressible orthotropic elastic half-spaces. The main aim of the paper is to derive formulas for the H/V ratio (ellipticity) of Rayleigh waves. First, the expression of the H/V ratio in terms of the Rayleigh wave velocity for compressible orthotropic elastic half-spaces is derived using the surface impedance matrix. From this expression and the secular equation of Rayleigh waves, the equation for the H/V ratio is obtained. It is a cubic equation. Employing the theory of cubic equations, the formula for the H/V ratio for compressible orthotropic elastic half-spaces has been derived. The H/V ratio formula for incompressible orthotropic elastic half-spaces has been obtained using the incompressible limit method. Since the H/V ratio of Rayleigh waves is a good tool for nondestructively evaluating mechanical properties of structures before and during loading, the obtained formulas will be very significant in practical applications.