Focusing of Rayleigh waves: simulation and experiments

A linear array of surface wave transducers has been developed to generate focused surface wave motion. A novel theoretical approach, whereby time-harmonic surface wave motion is represented by a carrier wave that satisfies a reduced wave equation on the surface of the body and supports the subsurface motion, is used to model the beam generated by a single element of the array. Comparison of theoretical and experimental results show that, for a single element, the opening angle of the beam is about 20 degrees and its cross-section can be represented by a Gaussian distribution of the normal displacements. For an eight-element array, the focused beam is subsequently obtained by superposition considerations. For the focused beam comparisons of theoretical and experimental results, in which the latter have been obtained by the use of a laser interferometer, show excellent agreement both for the normal displacements along a radial line and across the width of the beam. The array can be used for self-focusing of surface waves on a surface defect.