Movement of the ground in Rayleigh waves produced by underground explosions

Analytic representations are obtained for the displacement and stress fields in the Rayleigh surface wave (R-wave) generated in an elastic half-space by an internal source that produces the same seismic P-wave as an underground explosion. Oscillograms, particle trajectories, and stresses in the half-space and on its surface are calculated. Relations for the energy flux in the R-wave are obtained. For rock salt, the fraction of the explosion energy transferred to the R-wave is estimated. It is established that this fraction can reach values of about 1% of the total explosion energy if the explosion is a contained one. As the charge depth is increased, the energy of the R-wave decreases in approximately inverse proportion to the depth. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 3–14, July–August, 2006.