ABSTRACT

One fundamental difference between Rayleigh waves on a free surface and Lamb waves in a plate is that in the latter case there is a finite length scale, the plate thickness. There is a direct correspondence between fluid loading of the Rayleigh wave on the surface of a semi-infinite solid and fluid loading of one side of a plate supporting Lamb waves. There is a one-to-one correspondence with the fluid-loaded Rayleigh wave problem. The real root of the modified dispersion equation corresponds to a true interface wave, which is often called a Stoneley–Scholte mode. It propagates in the liquid parallel to the surface without attenuation. It is the direct analog of the Stoneley wave for the liquid-loaded surface. A Rayleigh wave propagates around the curved surface of the cylinder and becomes leaky in the presence of the fluid.