Effect of a viscous liquid loading on Love wave propagation

This paper describes a theory of surface Love waves propagating in a layered elastic waveguide loaded on its surface by a viscous (Newtonian) liquid. An analytical expression for the complex dispersion equation of Love waves has been established. The real and imaginary parts of the complex dispersion equation were separated and resulting system of nonlinear algebraic equations was solved numerically. The influence of the viscosity of liquid on the dispersion curves of phase velocity, the wave attenuation and the distribution of the Love wave amplitude is analyzed numerically. The propagation loss is produced only by the viscosity of liquids. Elastic layered waveguide is assumed to be loss-less. The numerical solutions show the dependence of the phase velocity change, the wave attenuation and the wave amplitude distribution in terms of the liquid viscosity and the wave frequency. The results of the investigations are fundamental and can be applied in the design and development of liquid viscosity sensors and biosensors, in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of materials, in geophysics and seismology.