Wave propagation in a transversely isotropic heat‐conducting elastic material

Abstract

A transversely isotropic elastic material can transmit three body waves in each direction, a quasi-longitudinal (QL) wave, a quasi-transverse (QT) wave, and a purely transverse wave. When the material is able to conduct heat the properties of small amplitude QL and QT waves are modified and we consider here the analysis of such thermo-elastic interactions in plane harmonic disturbances. The modified QL and QT waves are both found to exhibit frequency-dependent dispersion and damping of the kind known to affect dilatational waves in isotropic heat-conducting elastic materials, and in addition we show that the particle paths in the associated motions are ellipses with their axes inclined to the wave normal. This latter effect is peculiar to body waves travelling in anisotropic heat-conducting elastic materials and seems not to have been studied in detail hitherto. Numerical results referring to the propagation of plane harmonic body waves in a single crystal of zinc are presented and discussed.