On Surface Waves and Deformations in a Pre-stressed Incompressible Elastic Solid

The propagation of infinitesimal surface waves on a half-spaceof incompressible isotropic elastic material subject to a generalpure homogeneous pre-strain is considered. The secular equationfor propagation along a principal axis of the pre-strain isobtained for a general strain-energy function, and conditionswhich ensure stability of the underlying pre-strain are derived.The influence of the pre-stress on the existence of surfacewaves is examined and, in particular, it is found that, undera certain range of hydrostatic pre-stress, a unique wavespeedexists and is bounded above by a limiting speed which correspondsto the shear wave speed in an infinite body. The secular equationis analysed in detail for particular deformations and, for anumber of specific forms of strain-energy function, numericalresults are used to illustrate the dependence of the wave speedon the pre-strain. Particular attention is focused on pre-strainscorresponding to loss of stability, in which case the infinitesimalstrain is time-independent (the wave speed being zero). Thetheory described here encompasses previous work on surface wavesand instabilities in incompressible isotropic elastic materialsand provides a clear delimitation of the range of deformationsfor which surface waves exist.