Shear horizontal wave dispersion in nanolayers with surface effects and determination of surface elastic constants

Abstract In this work, the shear horizontal (SH) wave dispersion in two dissimilar nanolayers is investigated by using the surface elasticity theory in which the surface effects are featured by surface elastic constants. It is found that the SH wave dispersion shows distinct dependence on the nanolayer thickness as well as the surface elastic constants. The larger the surface elastic modulus and/or the smaller the thickness, the higher the phase velocity. In particular, as the wave frequency approaches zero, the analytical relation between the phase velocity in the first mode dispersion and the surface elastic constants is deduced. Thereby, a facile method is suggested to determine the surface elastic constants from the phase velocity of SH waves scattered in nanolayers.