Wave propagation in transversely isotropic porous piezoelectric materials

Wave propagation in porous piezoelectric material (PPM), having crystal symmetry 6 mm, is studied analytically. Christoffel equation is derived for the propagation of plane harmonic waves in such a medium. The roots of this equation give four complex wave velocities which can propagate in such materials. The phase velocities of propagation and the attenuation quality factors of all these waves are described in terms of complex wave velocities. Phase velocities and attenuation of the waves in PPM depend on the phase direction. Numerical results are computed for the PPM BaTiO3. The variation of phase velocity and attenuation quality factor with phase direction, porosity and the wave frequency is studied. The effects of anisotropy and piezoelectric coupling are also studied. The phase velocities of two quasi dilatational waves and one quasi shear waves get affected due to piezoelectric coupling while that of type 2 quasi shear wave remain unaffected. The phase velocities of all the four waves show non-dispersive behavior after certain critical high frequency. The phase velocity of all waves decreases with porosity while attenuation of respective waves increases with porosity of the medium. The characteristic curves, including slowness curves, velocity curves, and the attenuation curves, are also studied in this paper. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.