Shear-horizontal waves in a rotated Y-cut quartz plate with an imperfectly bonded mass layer

We study shear-horizontal (SH) waves in an unbounded plate of rotated Y-cut quartz carrying a thin mass layer imperfectly or nonrigidly bonded to the surface of the quartz plate. The imperfect interface is described by the so-called shear-lag model that allows the displacement to be discontinuous across the interface. A transcendental frequency equation that determines the dispersion relations of the waves is obtained. Exact and approximate solutions to the frequency equation are presented. The effects of the mass layer and the imperfect interface on the dispersion relations are examined. A quantitative criterion is given which distinguishes whether the combined effect of the mass layer and the imperfect interface raises or lowers the wave frequencies.