Propagation of edge waves in a thinly layered laminated medium with stress couples under initial stresses

The propagation of edge waves in a thinly layered laminated medium with stress couples under initial stresses is examined. Based upon an approximate representation of a laminated medium by an equivalent anisotropic continuum with average initial and couple stresses, an explicit form of frequency equation is obtained to derive the phase velocity of edge waves. Edge waves exist under certain conditions. The inclusion of couple stresses increases the velocity of wave propagation. For a specific compression, the presence of couple stresses increases the velocity of wave propagation with the increase of wave number, whereas the reverse is the case when there is no couple stress. Numerical computation is performed with graphical representations. Several special cases are also examined.