Elastic wave propagation in layered anisotropic media

This is an analysis of the dispersive properties of transversely isotropic media. This kind of anisotropy is exhibited by hexagonal crystals, sediments, planar igneous bodies, ice sheets, and rolled metal sheets where the unique axis is perpendicular to the direction of surface wave propagation and the other axes are distributed randomly in the plane of the layers. Period equations are derived for waves of Rayleigh, Stoneley, and Love types, and comparisons are made, in certain cases, with ray theoretical and plane stress solutions. Anisotropy can have a pronounced effect on both the range of existence and the shape of the dispersion curves and can lead to an apparent discrepancy between Love and Rayleigh wave data. Attention is focused in this initial paper on a single solid layer in vacuo (i.e. a free plate) and a solid layer in contact with a fluid halfspace. The single layer solutions are generalized to n-layer media by the use of Haskell matrices.