THE REFLECTION OF RAYLEIGH WAVES BY A HIGH IMPEDANCE OBSTACLE ON A HALF‐SPACE

Abstract

The reflection of a time‐harmonic Rayleigh wave by a high impedance obstacle in shearless contact with an elastic half‐space of lower impedance is examined theoretically. The potentials are found by a function—theoretic solution to dual integral equations. From these potentials, a “reflection coefficient” is defined for the surface vertical displacement in the Rayleigh wave. Results show that the reflected wave is π/2 radians out of phase with the incident wave for arbitrary Poisson’s ratio. The modulus of the “reflection coefficient” depends upon Poisson’s ratio, and is evaluated as [Formula: see text] for σ=0.25.