Effect of an imperfect interface on the SH wave propagating in a cylindrical piezoelectric sensor

Under harsh in situ conditions, the interface in piezoelectric sensors may be damaged mechanically and/or electrically. The damaged interface would in turn affect the electromechanical behaviors of the sensors. The purpose of the present work is to study the effect of the imperfect interface on SH wave propagating in a cylindrical piezoelectric sensor. The dispersion relations of SH wave are derived analytically and the phase velocity are obtained numerically. Parametric studies on the phase velocity indicate that the mechanical imperfection may reduce the phase velocity under certain circumstances; however, the electrical imperfection has no obvious effect on the phase velocity in any cases; with the thickness of the piezoelectric layer increasing, the phase velocity may increase, decrease or keep unchanged, depending on the combination of the values of the wave number and the mechanical imperfection parameter.