Flexural and transversal wave motion in homogeneous isotropic thermoelastic plates by using asymptotic method

Abstract

The present investigation is concerned with the flexural and transversal wave motion in an infinite, transversely isotropic, thermoelastic plate by asymptotic method. The governing equations for the flexural and transversal motions have been derived from the system of three-dimensional dynamical equations of linear theory of coupled thermoelasticity. The asymptotic operator plate model for free vibrations; both flexural and transversal, in a homogenous thermoelastic plate leads to fifth degree and cubic polynomial secular equations, respectively, that governs frequency and phase velocity of various possible modes of wave propagation at all wavelengths. All the coefficients of differential operator have been expressed as explicit functions of the material parameters. The velocity dispersion equations for the flexural and transversal wave motion have been deduced from the three-dimensional analog of Rayleigh–Lamb frequency equation for thermoelastic plate waves. The approximations for long and short waves and expression for group velocity have also been derived. The thermoelastic Rayleigh–Lamb frequency equations for the considered plate are expanded in power series in order to obtain polynomial frequency and velocity dispersion relations whose equivalence is established with that of asymptotic method. The dispersion curves for phase velocity, group velocity and attenuation coefficient of various flexural and transversal wave modes are shown graphically for aluminum-epoxy material elastic and thermoelastic plates.