Response of viscoelastic slab to viscous slab to viscous fluid flow

The dynamics of harmonic wave trains on the interface between compliant coatings and boundary layer flows is explored theoretically. The coating is treated as an infinite, elastic or viscoelastic slab of finite thickness, bonded to a rigid half space. The viscoelastic behavior is modeled by an isotropic Voigt constitutive model. The first model studied uses a modified potential flow to approximate boundary layer flow. For this model, surface shear is assumed to be zero and the two media are coupled through normal stress and velocity in the vertical direction. The pressure-surface-elevation relation predicted by the potential flow theory is modified by empirical parameters such as amplitude coefficient and phase shift. As a second model, a two dimensional, perturbed boundary layer flow bounded by a viscoelastic slab is considered. The results obtained show that this model is capable of explaining most of the characteristics of the interaction mechanism between the viscoelastic slab and boundary layer flow.