Full 3D dispersion curve solutions for guided waves in generally anisotropic media

These challenges are overcome here by using a spectral collocation method (SCM) to robustly find dispersion curves in the most complicated cases of high attenuation and arbitrary anisotropy. Solutions are then plotted in three-dimensional frequency-complex wavenumber space, thus gaining much deeper insight into the nature of these problems. The cases studied range from classical examples, which validate this approach, to new ones involving materials up to the most general triclinic class for both flat and cylindrical geometry in multi-layered systems. The apparent crossing of modes within the same symmetry family in viscoelastic media is also explained and clarified by the results. Finally, the consequences of the centre of symmetry, present in every crystal class, on the solutions are discussed.