Displacement reflection from an interface between two inviscid elastic liquids Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 38B i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Linearized mass conservation, momentum balance and the isentropic pressure-density relation are , , and . Differentiate mass conservation in time and take the divergence of momentum balance to eliminate velocity. This gives the acoustic pressure wave equationFor the convention , momentum balance gives the complex velocity amplitude , with . Thus the incident velocity field is in the lower gas.
Let , , , and with nonnegative real or imaginary part. This chooses an outgoing propagating wave or an evanescent wave decaying as . Conservation of tangential wavevector is the acoustic Snell law for elastic and acoustic waves. Write the complex pressures asInviscid kinematic matching requires equal normal velocities at the plate, not equal tangential velocities:Define the normal acoustic impedance ratio , so . For a propagating transmitted wave this is . The dynamic condition giveswhich is exactly the printed dimensionless parameter. Solving yields the pressure reflection coefficient and transmission coefficientAt use the preceding velocity equations, or take their limit, rather than substituting an infinite . For real , the reflected energy fraction is , the transmitted fraction is , and these sum to one. An evanescent transmitted wave carries no mean normal energy flux.
When the gases match, , so and . For a nongrazing incident wave of nonzero frequency, perfect transmission means , equivalent toThe plate's inertial and bending terms cancel: the incident frequency and tangential wavevector coincide with its free flexural wave dispersion relation. Then , including its phase. With positive , this condition is possible only at angles and frequencies satisfying that relation; for normal incidence at nonzero frequency it cannot occur unless the mass is zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 2 40C b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
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.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 2 40C c iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Eliminating from the two boundary conditions givesThe Snell law for elastic and acoustic waves impliesTherefore the displacement reflection from an interface between two inviscid elastic liquids is