Wave propagation in anisotropic layered media

The determination of the natural modes of wave propagation in an anisotropic layered medium requires the solution of a transcendental eigenvalue problem that is usually approached numerically with the aid of search techniques. Such computations require great effort. The method presented in this paper provides an alternate solution to this problem in terms of a quadratic eigenvalue problem involving tridiagonal matrices, for which the eigenvalues can be found with great speed and accuracy. The technique is then illustrated by means of an example involving a cross‐anisotropic Gibson solid.