Analytical study of s-wave propagation across saturated joints in rock masses

Joints are important mechanical and hydrological features of rock masses, and they can greatly affect wave propagation and attenuation across jointed rock masses. Joints often contain liquid, and the presence of liquid will change the mechanical behaviors of the joint. The saturated joint can be modeled as nonwelded interfaces. Stresses across the joint are continuous, but particle displacements and velocities are not. In this paper, with the recently introduced concept of VirtualWave Source (VWS) and analytical solution of reflection and transmission coefficients for harmonic plane S-wave across one saturated joint, normally incident S-wave propagation across one saturated joint set is studied. Parametric studies of S-wave propagation across one saturated joint set are performed. It is found that the magnitude of transmission coefficient across one saturated joint set is controlled by normalized shear joint stiffness, normalized joint viscosity, number of joints and nondimensional joint spacing. In addition, the waveforms of transmitted waves are discussed in detail in order to explain the phenomena above.