On diffraction in a piezoelectric medium by a half-plane: The Sommerfeld problem (Q5949881)

The author studies the diffraction produced by a plane infinite slit. The medium is transversely isotropic piezoelectric (class 6mm), both surfaces of the slit are traction-free and electrically absorbent. The behaviour of the medium is described by two uncoupled two-dimensional wave equations, one for anti-plane displacement and the other for pseudoelectric potential (this is called the quasi-hyperbolic approximation). The solution is obtained by the use of a novel procedure stemming from well-known Wiener-Hopf procedure. The appearance of various modes of propagation (Bleustein-Gulyaev waves) is discussed. Some new interesting conclusions are derived, for example the absence of shadow behind the half-plane slit. The paper gives closed solutions for diffraction problems, free from the drawbacks of classical theory where the propagation is absent.