Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/ii/paper-2/40c/b/solution

All wavevectors lie in the plane and have the same tangential component. The incident P-wave travels upward toward . In the lower solid there are a downward reflected P-wave, polarized parallel to its wavevector, and a downward reflected SV-wave, polarized in the plane perpendicular to its wavevector. In the upper solid there are corresponding upward transmitted P- and SV-waves. The SH polarization decouples from this in-plane incident field. Their angles obey the Snell law for elastic and acoustic waves.
For a welded interface, the two in-plane displacement components are continuous:
The two in-plane traction components are also continuous:
These four independent scalar conditions determine the four reflected and transmitted amplitudes. This is mode conversion at a planar elastic interface.

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