Longitudinal Wave Propagation in Multiple-Impacted Rods

Abstract

The nature of impact interaction between colliding bodies is complex. For a better understanding of collisions, longitudinal wave propagation resulting from a rigid body striking an elastic rod has been investigated for a long time and many important dynamical phenomena have been discovered. For multiple impacts, however, only a few studies are found in the literature. In this paper, longitudinal wave propagation in an elastic rod struck by two rigid bodies at its both ends simultaneously or successively is investigated. Both, St. Venant's contact theory and Hertzian contact theory are applied. Numerical results obtained from both theories are compared in detail. Moreover, the energy transfer from a striking body through the elastic rod to another body is also described.