On Absence of Decay of Bulk Solitary Waves in Elastic Wave Guides

Abstract

Propagation of bulk solitary density waves is studied in lengthy elastic wave guides, which have strong dispersion and are made of polymers with remarkable linear dissipation, that leads to decay of any of linear or shock waves at short distances. Nonlinear elasticity of materials results in generation of strain solitons even under short‐run and reversible (elastic) loading. Theoretical and experimental research has been performed to prove the existence of long bulk strain solitary waves produced by a laser‐induced impact in nonlinearly elastic isotropic wave guides. New experiments in lengthy bars (over 0.5 m) confirm that bulk solitons do not reveal any considerable amplitude decay and shape transformation, while linear or shock waves disappear at much shorter distance completely. Decrement values are small, indeed, and estimated first for elastic nonlinear strain waves dissipation in polymeric bars.