Propagation of wedge acoustic waves along wedges embedded in water

In this paper, the preliminary theoretical results are reported on the propagation of antisymmetric (flexural) wedge acoustic waves in solid wedges immersed in liquid. It is shown that in a subsonic regime of propagation, the influence of liquid may result in significant decrease of wedge wave velocities in comparison with their values in vacuum. For wedges made of such materials as rubber, the wedge-wave velocities may be as small as few meters per second. Wedge waves with such low propagation velocities may be used as a new source for propulsion of vessels in water similar to that used in nature by some fish, e.g. rays, which use wave-like motion of their wings for moving forward. The advantage of using wedge waves for wave-like propulsion of man-inhabited vessels in water is that the main body of a vessel would be virtually quiet because the wedge-wave vibration energy is concentrated near the wedge tip