Paper 2, Section II, A
Part II, 2009
An elastic solid of density has Lamé moduli and . From the dynamic equation for the displacement vector , derive equations satisfied by the dilatational and shear potentials and . Show that two types of plane harmonic wave can propagate in the solid, and explain the relationship between the displacement vector and the propagation direction in each case.
A semi-infinite solid occupies the half-space and is bounded by a traction-free surface at . A plane -wave is incident on the plane with angle of incidence . Describe the system of reflected waves, calculate the angles at which they propagate, and show that there is no reflected -wave if
where