Interface energy effect on the dispersion relation of nano-sized cylindrical piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composites

Interface between the constituents plays an important role in the non-destructive detection of smart piezoelectric/piezomagnetic devices. The propagation of SH waves in nano-sized cylindrically multiferroic composites consisting of a piezoelectric layer and a piezomagnetic central cylinder is investigated, and the size-dependent dispersion relation with interface effect is derived. The general solutions of decoupled governing equation in different regions are expressed by using Bessel functions, and the unknown coefficients are determined by satisfying the boundary conditions at the inner interface with negligible thickness and the outer surface of the structure. Through the numerical examples of dispersion relation, it is found that the interface around the nano-cylinder may remarkably reduce the phase velocity, depending on the combination of the value of thickness ratio and the surface condition. The interface shows different effect on the first and second modes of dispersion relation.