Harmonic resonance phenomena on nonlinear SH waves

Abstract

The interaction of shear horizontal (SH) waves in a two layered elastic medium and its mth harmonic component is studied. The dispersion relation is analysed to obtain the wave number-phase velocity pairs where the third and fifth harmonic resonance phenomena emerge. By employing an asymptotic perturbation method it is shown that the balance between the weak nonlinearity and dispersion yields a coupled nonlinear Schrödinger (CNLS) equation for the slowly varying amplitudes of the fundamental wave and its fifth harmonic component. The nonlinearity effects of the materials and the ratio of layers’ thicknesses on the linear instabilities of solutions and the existence of solitary waves are examined.