Dispersion of Love wave in an isotropic layer sandwiched between orthotropic and prestressed inhomogeneous half-spaces

Abstract

An in-depth study has been carried out for the dispersion of Love waves in an isotropic elastic layer sandwiched between orthotropic and prestressed inhomogeneous elastic half-spaces. The inhomogeneities in density and rigidity of the lower half-space are space dependent and an arbitrary function of depth. Simple mathematical techniques are used to obtain dispersion relation for Love wave propagation in an isotropic layer. An extensive analysis is carried out through numerical computation to explore the effect of inhomogeneity and initial stress the lower half on the phase velocity of the Love waves. The numerical analysis of dispersion equation manifests that the phase velocity of the Love wave increases with the increase of stress parameter. The results further indicate that the inhomogeneity of the half space affect the wave velocity significantly. These results can be useful to study geophysical prospecting and understanding the cause and estimation of damage due to earthquakes.