Effects of the imperfect interface and piezoelectric/piezomagnetic stiffening on the SH wave in a multiferroic composite

Studied in the present work is the propagation of SH wave in a cylindrically multiferroic composite consisting of a piezoelectric layer and a piezomagnetic central cylinder. It is assumed that the interface in the composite is damaged mechanically, magnetically or electrically. The dispersion relations of SH wave are obtained for two kinds of electric-magnetic boundary conditions at the free surface, and then the phase velocity is calculated numerically. Parametric studies on the phase velocity yield three main conclusions. (a) The mechanical imperfection may remarkably reduce the phase velocity, depending on the combination of the values of the wavenumber and the thickness ratio. (b) The magneto-electrical imperfection has no obvious effect on the phase velocity in any cases. (c) The piezoelectric and piezomagnetic stiffening can increase the phase velocity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.