Hybridized love waves in a guiding layer supporting an array of plates with decorative endings

Abstract

This study follows from Maurel et al., Phys. Rev. B 98, 134311 (2018), where we reported on direct numerical observations of out-of-plane shear surface waves propagating along an array of plates atop a guiding layer, as a model for a forest of trees. We derived closed form dispersion relations using the homogenization procedure and investigated the effect of heterogeneities at the top of the plates (the foliage of trees). Here, we extend the study to the derivation of a homogenized model accounting for heterogeneities at both endings of the plates. The derivation is presented in the time domain, which allows for an energetic analysis of the effective problem. The effect of these heterogeneous endings on the properties of the surface waves is inspected for hard heterogeneities. It is shown that top heterogeneities affect the resonances of the plates, hence modifying the cut-off frequencies of a wave mathematically similar to the so-called Spoof Plasmon Polariton (SPP) wave, while the bottom heterogeneities affect the behavior of the layer, hence modifying the dispersion relation of the Love waves. The complete system simply mixes these two ingredients, resulting in hybrid surface waves accurately described by our model.