Plane waves in viscoelastic anisotropic media-I. Theory

Abstract

Properties of homogeneous and inhomogeneous plane waves propagating in an unbounded viscoelastic anisotropic medium in an arbitrarily specified direction N are studied analytically. The method used for their calculation is based on the so-called mixed specification of the slowness vector. It is quite universal and can be applied to homogeneous and inhomogeneous plane waves propagating in perfectly elastic or viscoelastic, isotropic or anisotropic media. The method leads to the solution of a complex-valued algebraic equation of the sixth degree. Standard methods can be used to solve the algebraic equation. Once the solution has been found, the phase velocities, exponential decays of amplitudes, attenuation angles, polarization vectors, etc., of P, S1 and S2 plane waves, propagating along and against N, can be easily determined.