Transient wave propagation in elastic rods and plates

Abstract

Wave propagation in a bounded elastic solid, like a rod or a plate, is complicated by two basic factors. The first is the partial mode conversion a wave undergoes upon reflection from a boundary (for example, compression into compression and shear), and the second is the multiple reflections of the waves thus created between neighboring boundaries. The second factor is responsible for dispersion, characterized in the case of harmonic waves by a frequency or phase velocity dependence on wavelength. Dispersion is a basic factor in accounting for the change in shape of a pulse propagating in an elastic rod or plate.