Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College

Shear-horizontal (SH-) wave manipulation in layered smart composites is crucial for sensing, vibration mitigation, and subsurface detection technologies; however, the dominant mechanisms governing wave control in porous-piezoelectric systems remain insufficiently understood. This study demonstrates that interfacial electromechanical coupling, rather than bulk material properties, is the primary mechanism controlling SH-wave phase velocity and dispersion in a multilayered structure composed of a piezoelectric substrate, an overlying porous-piezoelectric layer, and an ultra-thin dual electric membrane interface connected through an electrically induced spring. A coupled elastodynamic— electromechanical formulation is employed to derive the dispersion relation and evaluate parametric influences. Several limiting and particular cases are examined to validate the formulation and confirm consistency with established results. Numerical analysis reveals that the electromechanical interfacial stiffness exerts the strongest influence on wave speed by converting mechanical energy into electrical energy and modifying effective dynamic inertia. Mechanical interfacial compliance significantly enhances low-wavenumber sensitivity, whereas increased electrical stiffness improves propagation stability and elevates phase velocity. In contrast, variations in bulk elastic constants produce comparatively smaller effects. Membrane properties and thickness ratios further regulate energy confinement and dispersion behavior, confirming that SH-wave dynamics are predominantly interface-controlled. These findings show that wave characteristics can be tuned through interface engineering rather than material substitution, supporting the design of SH-wave sensors, vibration control layers, energy harvesters, and subsurface detection systems.

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of shear-horizontal (SH) wave propagation in a novel cylindrical core-shell structure composed of a piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite (PFRC) core encased by a concentric isotropic elastic shell. Three different types of imperfect interfaces are examined in detail: (a) a spring interface, (b) a membrane interface, and (c) a spring-membrane combined interface. The analysis, carried out in cylindrical coordinates, focuses on circumferential wave motion relevant to advanced structural and biomedical applications. The anisotropic behavior of the PFRC core, derived from the micro-mechanical arrangement of aligned piezoelectric fibers in an epoxy matrix, is fully incorporated, while the isotropic coating provides the necessary mechanical contrast to highlight interfacial effects. A thin cylindrical elastic membrane is introduced to replicate interfacial bonding or compliant layers typically observed in layered manufacturing and implantable devices, where its presence induces mode conversion and significantly modifies wave dynamics. A coupled electromechanical model is formulated, and dispersion relations for guided SH modes are derived using variable separation methods with Bessel and Hankel functions. The model is validated through limiting cases. Parametric studies investigate the influence of core-shell radii, spring stiffness, membrane density and elastic constant, and PFRC fiber volume fraction. Numerical results, illustrated through dispersion curves, 3D surface plots, and time-dependent fields of displacement and electric potential, demonstrate how the three interface models distinctly affect wave behavior. The study highlights the potential of interface-engineered cylindrical composites for tunable SH-wave propagation and tailored electromechanical response.

This study develops a theoretical model for a piezoelectric viscoelastic fiber-reinforced composite (PVFRC) using the Rule of Mixtures and Strength of Materials. The model is applied to investigate shear horizontal (SH) wave propagation in a layered system consisting of a conductive fluid over a PVFRC substrate, capturing coupled fluid-piezoelectric-mechanical interactions. A non-ideal interface is introduced using Aifantis-type strain-gradient dual electromechanical membranes with a sandwiched electrically induced spring layer to represent imperfect bonding. Stress analysis of the membranes is performed to derive the governing electromechanical equations and describe stress-strain distributions. An exact dispersion relation is obtained under plane deformation conditions. A detailed parametric study examines the effects of piezoelectric coupling, strain-gradient parameters, interfacial stiffness, and fiber volume fraction on phase velocity. A comparative analysis of mechanical, classical, and coupled spring-type interfaces highlights their distinct influence on wave transmission. In addition, a physics-consistent artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed to accurately predict SH-wave phase velocity from the analytical data. The results provide a practical framework for controlling wave propagation in smart composite systems for vibration and energy applications.

The present work explores the theoretical behavior of Love-type surface waves in a composite layered medium consisting of a piezoelectric (PE) layer placed atop a piezomagnetic (PM) substrate. These layers are separated by a non-conducting, spring-type imperfect interface, flanked on one side by an electrically conductive membrane and on the other by a magnetically conductive membrane. The model is developed and using appropriate analytical techniques, the associated dispersion relation is determined. Particular cases are examined to demonstrate the versatility of the proposed model. Furthermore, mode shape analyses of the field variables, such as mechanical displacement and electric and magnetic potentials, are performed to elucidate the spatial field distribution within the layered structure. For numerical computation, lead zirconate titanate (PZT-2) and cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) are employed as the PE layer and PM substrate materials, respectively. Results indicate that elastic coupling significantly increases the phase velocity, whereas electric and magnetic couplings decrease it, due to enhanced energy storage in their respective fields. The mechanical spring constant of the imperfect interface notably influences wave behavior, particularly at low to moderate wave numbers. The results provide a basis for the construction of efficient acoustic sensors, filters, and magneto-electric devices by highlighting the crucial roles that interfacial compliance and dual membrane effects play in adjusting wave dispersion properties.

This study proposes a novel analytical framework for shear-horizontal (SH) wave propagation in a piezoelectric semiconductor (PSC) thin film deposited on a magneto-electro-elastic (MEE) substrate through an electrically tunable, coupled electromechanical spring interface. The central novelty lies in formulating and employing new interface conditions that simultaneously incorporate mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical behavior. These generalized spring relations effectively represent displacement jumps, potential discontinuities, and cross-field coupling at the interface. This framework enables the interface to be externally controlled, offering a new mechanism for tunable imperfect bonding. Using a rigorous mathematical formulation based on the governing field equations and interface continuity conditions, dispersion relations are found. For numerical analysis, three MEE composite configurations are considered. The obtained results are validated numerically with the previously established results. The effect of PSC film thickness and the impact of externally applied horizontal electric biasing are also evaluated numerically to assess their roles in dispersion tuning. The study also includes special cases and contour plots to represent the effects of parameters on the propagation behavior of the SH wave. This architecture could be used to make reconfigurable surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, adaptive sensors, micro-nano resonators, and tunable filters, where it is very important to have exact control over where the acoustic energy goes and how it moves.