Thermoviscoelastic surface waves of an assigned wavelength

This paper deals with the propagation of surface waves of an assigned wavelength on a thermoviscoelastic half-space. It is shown that a unique surface wave of an assigned wavelength, which satisfies the adopted criteria for behaviour at infinity, always exists. This wave is interpreted as a superposition of three dispersive inhomogeneous plane waves. The superposed waves have different directions of propagation and different phase velocities. Their directions of propagation are not parallel to the stress-free surface. The plane of constant amplitude that corresponds to each of these superposed waves is parallel to the stress-free surface and moves to it with a constant velocity, which is different for each of the superposed waves. The numerical computations refer to some typical values of the material and thermal constants at different values of the wavelength when the half-space is thermally insulated.