Rayleigh wave dispersion due to spatial (FEM) discretization of a thin elastic solid having non-curved boundary

The grid dispersion for a harmonic Rayleigh wave propagating along a straight boundary of a thin elastic solid, modelled by finite elements, is investigated. It is shown that with an increase of dimensionless wavenumber γ · q, a phase velocity of Rayleigh waves increases from the long wave limit C_R. For sufficiently short waves it follows the dispersion curve referring to quasitransverse waves in an unbounded discretized medium.