Propagation characteristics of guided waves in a rod surrounded by an infinite solid medium

The dispersion and excitation characteristics of the guided waves in a rod surrounded by an infinite solid medium (cladding) are investigated. First, the bisection technique is employed to find all the roots of the dispersion function on the basis of theoretical analysis and to obtain the complex phase and group velocity dispersion curves of the guided modes. Second, according to their different dispersion characteristics, the guided modes are divided into two categories: normal modes and Stoneley modes. And it is concluded that the normal modes merely exist in the “hard cladding” model in which the cladding’s shear velocity is larger than the rod’s; while the Stoneley modes in cylindrical interface are highly dispersive and merely exist in the model whose acoustical parameters satisfied the existence condition of the Stoneley waves. Third, the seldom discussed issue, the excitation mechanisms of the guided waves, excited by three source models: symmetric point source, axial and radial force sources, are simulated respectively. Attention is paid on the dominant mode which has better excitation sensitivity and the suitable excitation frequency range. Moreover, the propagation characteristics of the Stoneley modes, ignored in previous references, are analyzed and compared with those of the normal modes.