Elastodynamic response of anisotropic laminate composite structures subjected to a force loading is evaluated based on the integral representations in terms of Green’s matrices. Explicit and asymptotic expressions for guided waves generated by a given source are then obtained from those integrals by means of series expansions and the residue technique. Unlike to conventional modal expansions, such representations keep information about the source, giving an opportunity for a quantitative near- and far-field analysis of generated waves. An effective computer implementation is achieved by the use of fast and stable algorithms for the Green matrix, pole, and residue calculations. The potential of the model is demonstrated by examples of anisotropy manifestation in the directivity of radiated waves. The effect of main energy outflow in the direction of either upper- or inner-ply orientation depending on the source size and frequency is discussed.

An explicit expression for the group velocity of wave packets, propagating in a laminate anisotropic composite plate in prescribed directions, is proposed. It is based on the cylindrical guided wave asymptotics derived from the path integral representation for wave fields generated in the composites by given localized sources. The expression derived is theoretically confirmed by the comparison with a known representation for the group velocity vector of a plane guided wave. Then it is experimentally validated against laser vibrometer measurements of guided wave packets generated by a piezoelectric wafer active sensor in a composite plate.

Resonance localization of waveenergy in two-dimensional (2D) waveguides with obstacles, known as a trapped mode effect, results in blocking of wave propagation. This effect is closely connected with the allocation of natural resonance poles in the complex frequency plane, which are in fact the spectral points of the related boundary value problem. With several obstacles the number of poles increases in parallel with the number of defects. The location of the poles in the complex frequency plane depends on the defect’s relative position, but the gaps of transmission coefficient plots generally remain in the same frequency ranges as for every single obstacle separately. This property gives a possibility to extend gap bands by a properly selected combination of various scatterers. On the other hand, a resonance wave passing in narrow bands associated with the poles is also observed. Thus, while a resonance response of a single obstacle works as a blocker, the waveguide with several obstacles becomes opened in narrow vicinities of nearly real spectral poles, just as it is known for one-dimensional (1D) waveguides with a finite number of periodic scatterers. In the present paper the blocking and passing effects are analyzed based on a semi-analytical model for wave propagation in a 2D elastic layer with cracks or rigid inclusions.