A computer model of the interaction of acoustic surface waves with discontinuities

Surface acoustic waves are under active investigation in three fields of study: geophysics, electronics and non-destructive testing. While the mathematical features are the same for all three fields, the wavelengths, as well as the dimensions of the features, range over at least ten orders of magnitude.In this paper a brief review of available numerical techniques is presented and this is followed by discussion of a series of models which use finite difference methods to predict the reflected and transmitted signals from wide band pulses of ultrasonic Rayleigh waves incident on various surface-breaking features. The paper concludes with a comparison of analytical, numerical and experimental results.