SH waves in layered transversely isotropic media—An asymptotic expansion approach

An asymptotic expansion of the displacement vector in terms of inverse powers of frequency is employed to investigate the dynamic (amplitude) properties of SH waves propagating in plane-layered transversely isotropic media. Both reflected and head waves are considered in terms of the asymptotic expansion, and their ranges of validity and accuracy are discussed. Although the solution of the most general case of wave propagation in an anisotropic medium has been presented in the literature (C˘ervený, 1972), it is instructive to consider this simple case in which many quantities inherent to wave propagation in anisotropic media can be more readily understood and can be solved analytically rather than reverting to numerical methods.