Translations:Dictionary:Transverse isotropy/17/en

Solutions to wave propagation problems in linear elastic transversely isotropic media can be constructed by superposing solutions for the quasi-P wave, the quasi S-wave, and a S-wave polarized orthogonal to the quasi S-wave. However, the equations for the angular variation of velocity are algebraically complex and the plane-wave velocities are functions of the propagation angle $\theta$ are. The direction dependent wave speeds for elastic waves through the material can be found by using the Christoffel equation and are given by

${\begin{aligned}V_{qP}(\theta )&={\sqrt {\frac {C_{11}\sin ^{2}(\theta )+C_{33}\cos ^{2}(\theta )+C_{44}+{\sqrt {M(\theta )}}}{2\rho }}}\\V_{qS}(\theta )&={\sqrt {\frac {C_{11}\sin ^{2}(\theta )+C_{33}\cos ^{2}(\theta )+C_{44}-{\sqrt {M(\theta )}}}{2\rho }}}\\V_{S}&={\sqrt {\frac {C_{66}\sin ^{2}(\theta )+C_{44}\cos ^{2}(\theta )}{\rho }}}\\M(\theta )&=\left[\left(C_{11}-C_{44}\right)\sin ^{2}(\theta )-\left(C_{33}-C_{44}\right)\cos ^{2}(\theta )\right]^{2}+\left(C_{13}+C_{44}\right)^{2}\sin ^{2}(2\theta )\\\end{aligned}}$

where ${\begin{aligned}\theta \end{aligned}}$ is the angle between the axis of symmetry and the wave propagation direction, $\rho$ is mass density and the $C_{ij}$ are elements of the elastic stiffness matrix. The Thomsen parameters are used to simplify these expressions and make them easier to understand.