Diffraction of a non-stationary linearly inhomogeneous acoustic wave which slides off a semi-infinite soft screen

An exact analytical solution of a new non-stationary scalar diffraction problem is obtained and analysed. A plane acoustic wave with a profile in the form of a delta function propagates along a semi-infinite soft screen. The wave amplitude varies linearly along the wave front. After reaching the end of the screen it “slides” off the screen, generating a diffraction field. A special modification of the Smirnov–Sobolev method is used to find this field. The solution is obtained in the form of an elementary function. It is shown that the sliding wave excites a travelling perturbation that is unlimited along the length of the screen. A similar phenomenon obviously also occurs when elastic waves slide from a cut (crack), which must be taken into account, in particular, in fracture theory.