An approximate secular equation of Rayleigh waves in an isotropic elastic half-space coated with a thin isotropic elastic layer

In this paper, we are interested in the propagation of Rayleigh waves in an isotropic elastic half-space coated with a thin isotropic elastic layer. The contact between the layer and the half-space is assumed to be welded. The main purpose of the paper is to establish an approximate secular equation of the wave. By using the effective boundary condition method, an approximate secular equation of fourth order in terms of the dimensionless thickness of the layer is derived. It is shown that this approximate secular equation has high accuracy. From the secular equation obtained, an approximate formula of third order for the velocity of Rayleigh waves is established.