The scattering of SH waves by a finite crack with a superposition-based diffraction technique

The problem of diffraction of cylindrical and plane horizontally polarized shear waves (SH waves) by a finite crack embedded in a plane bidimensional elastic full-space is revisited. Particularly, we construct an approximate solution by the addition of independent diffracted terms. In our method the derivation of the fundamental case of a semi-infinite crack obtained as a degenerate case of a generalized wedge is first considered. This result is then used as a building block to compute the diffraction of the main incident waves. The interaction between the opposite edges of the crack is later considered in terms of a series, one term at a time until a desired tolerance is reached. Moreover, we propose a procedure to determine the number of required interactions as a function of frequency. The solution derived with the superposition technique is shown to be effective at low and high frequencies and as shown by comparisons with a direct boundary element method software, highly accurate solutions are obtained after retaining just a few terms of the infinite series.