Long-wavelength dispersion of acoustic waves in transversely inhomogeneous anisotropic plates

Long-wavelength onset of the fundamental branches is described for a free anisotropic plate with arbitrary through-plate variation of material properties. Main attention is given to the flexural branch. Closed-form expressions for the leading-order dispersion coefficient of the velocity and displacement are derived for a generic case and exemplified for the various types of either continuous, or discrete, or periodic inhomogeneity and for the monoclinic symmetry. The relevance of the static averaging is examined in detail. The bounds for the slope of the flexural velocity branch are established. The upper fundamental branches are considered for the case when these are uncoupled inplane and shear horizontal ones.