The effect of initial stress on the propagation behavior of SH waves in piezoelectric coupled plates

This study analytically investigates the propagation of shear waves (SH waves) in a coupled plate consisting of a piezoelectric layer and an elastic layer with initial stress. The piezoelectric material is polarized in z-axis direction and perfectly bonded to an elastic layer. The mechanical displacement and electrical potential function are derived for the piezoelectric coupled plates by solving the electromechanical field equations. The effects of the thickness ratio and the initial stress on the dispersion relations and the phase and group velocities are obtained for electrically open and mechanically free situations. The numerical examples are provided to illustrate graphically the variations of the phase and group velocities versus the wave number for the different layers comparatively. It is seen that the phase velocity of SH waves decreases with the increase of the magnitude of the initial compression stress, while it increases with the increase of the magnitude of the initial tensile stress. The initial stress has a great effect on the propagation of SH waves with the decrease of the thickness ratio. This research is theoretically useful for the design of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices with high performance.

Research highlights
► We consider the propagation of SH waves in a coupled plate with initial stress.
► Dispersion relations with respect to the phase velocity are analytically obtained.
► The initial stress and the thickness ratio have a great effect on SH waves.