This paper reports on a study of the propagation characteristics of visco-elastic, Rayleigh-like waves in stratified half-space structures. Beginning with the Kelvin model, the characterization equation and the normal displacement of visco-elastic Rayleigh waves in stratified half-space structures are derived and the influence of the visco-elastic modulus on dispersion and attenuation is discussed. Theoretical calculations show that the attenuation-frequency curves perfectly match the phase-frequency curves. The effect of visco-elasticity on the attenuation of the Rayleigh-like wave is larger than its effect on dispersion. For "weak viscosity," the attenuation is directly proportional to the viscosity modulus and the shear viscosity has a greater impact on the dispersion curves than does the bulk viscosity. The transient response of a visco-elastic Rayleigh wave is also simulated by means of Laplace and Hankel inversion transforms. The results are in good agreement with the theoretic predictions. It is believed the paper's results and conclusions will provide insights and guidance for estimating visco-elastic parameters and for assessing adhesive quality.

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