This paper presents a semi-analytical model of the interaction of laser-initiated airborne shocks with the
edge of an infinite vertically mounted elastic plate. The impact of the shock wave on the plate edge is
approximated by an equivalent edge force resulting from the combined pressure of the incident and
reflected shock waves. The problem is then solved using the Green’s function method. The resulting
predictions are compared with the results of the laboratory experiments on laser-initiated air shock wave
interaction with an edge of a large vertically mounted Perspex plate that is used for reduced-scale
modelling of blast wave interaction with the ground surface. The resulting frequency spectra and time
histories of generated Rayleigh-type wave pulses propagating along the plate edge are calculated for
different heights of the laser beam focusing above the plate edge. The comparisons show that the obtained
semi-analytical predictions are in good agreement with the experiments
