The effect of inhomogeneous initial stress on Love wave propagation in layered magneto-electro-elastic structures

The effect of inhomogeneous initial stress on Love wave propagation in layered magneto-electro-elastic structures is investigated in this paper. The coupled magneto-electro-elastic field equations are solved by adopting the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximate approach. Then the phase velocity can be calculated by applying boundary and continuity conditions. A specific example of a structure consisting of a CoFe2O4 layer and a BaTiO3 substrate is used to illustrate the influence of inhomogeneous initial stress on the phase velocity, corresponding coupled magneto-electric factor and stress fields. The different influence between constant initial stress and inhomogeneous initial stress is discussed and the results are expected to be helpful for the preparation and application of Love wave sensors.