Love-Type Wave Propagation in an Irregular Prestressed Composite Sandwiched Layer

Abstract

The present problem analytically investigates the possibility of Love-type wave propagation in a prestressed irregular composite layer lying between an upper prestressed heterogeneous isotropic layer of finite width and a lower prestressed isotropic half-space. The closed-form expression of dispersion relation has been deduced and matched with the classical Love wave equation as a special case of the problem for its authenticity. The effects of size of irregularity, heterogeneity parameter of the uppermost layer, width ratio of layers, and horizontal prestresses, present in each of the media, on the dispersion curve are the prime outcome of the study. A comparative study made between the case in which a composite medium is present as an irregular sandwiched layer and the case in which an isotropic medium is present as an irregular sandwiched layer is one of the major highlights of the problem. Moreover, numerical computations have been carried out and are depicted by means of graphs.