Using the Partial Wave Method for Wave Structure Calculation and the Conceptual Interpretation of Elastodynamic Guided Waves

The partial-wave method takes advantage of the Christoffel equation’s generality to represent waves within a waveguide. More specifically, the partial-wave method is well known for its usefulness when calculating dispersion curves for multilayered and/or anisotropic plates. That is, it is a vital component of the transfer-matrix method and the global-matrix method, which are used for dispersion curve calculation. The literature suggests that the method is also exceptionally useful for conceptual interpretation, but gives very few examples or instruction on how this can be done. In this paper, we expand on this topic of conceptual interpretation by addressing Rayleigh waves, Stoneley waves, shear horizontal waves, and Lamb waves. We demonstrate that all of these guided waves can be described using the partial-wave method, which establishes a common foundation on which many elastodynamic guided waves can be compared, translated, and interpreted. For Lamb waves specifically, we identify the characteristics of guided wave modes that have not been formally discussed in the literature. Additionally, we use what is demonstrated in the body of the paper to investigate the leaky characteristics of Lamb waves, which eventually leads to finding a correlation between oblique bulk wave propagation in the waveguide and the transmission amplitude ratios found in the literature