Group velocity of cylindrical guided waves in anisotropic laminate composites

An explicit expression for the group velocity of wave packets, propagating in a laminate anisotropic composite plate in prescribed directions, is proposed. It is based on the cylindrical guided wave asymptotics derived from the path integral representation for wave fields generated in the composites by given localized sources. The expression derived is theoretically confirmed by the comparison with a known representation for the group velocity vector of a plane guided wave. Then it is experimentally validated against laser vibrometer measurements of guided wave packets generated by a piezoelectric wafer active sensor in a composite plate. (C) 2014 Acoustical Society of America.