The splitting of dispersion curves for plates fluid-loaded on both sides

For in vacuo elastic plates or plates fluid-loaded on one side, it has been previously shown that dispersion curves for both plate-borne (Lamb) type and, in he latter case, also fluid-borne (Scholte-Stoneley) type fail to cross but repel each other, with the waves simultaneously exchanging their physical character, This study is extended here to the case of a plate loaded by two different fluids, where a quantitative calculation of dispersion curves for water on one side, and a Lighter or a heavier fluid on the other, is carried out confirming the existence of two different Scholte-Stoneley waves. (C) 1997 Acoustical Society of America.