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Waves in elastic materials

Many substances can be distorted by applying a force to


the materials. Often the materials are elastic under small
perturbations: i.e. the original shape is restored when the
force is removed.
Forces above the elastic limit cause the material to
permanently distort.
The general theory of elastic materials is complicated
because in many substances the elastic properties
depends on the direction in the material.
Two important definitions:
STRESS
T = Lim
Area

Applied Force N/m2


AREA

[3.1]

STRAIN
If parts of the body can be moved relative to each other
then the body is said to be in a state of strain. The
amount of strain will depend on the variation of
displacement with distance.
Strain d/dx

[3.2]

So, a big relative displacement over a small distance


implies a large strain.

Some Elastic moduli for isotropic materials


Youngs Modulus: Y
Y=

Wire
cross section
area
A

Becomes

Stress
Strain
= F/A
l/l

[3.3]

If Y is large then for a big


force per unit area (F/A)
l
F
F

there is a small fractional


extension (l/l), then it is a
strong material.

For example Steel : Y ~ 2 x 1011 N/m2

Bulk modulus: B
B = (Pressure)
V/V

[3.4]

Where V/V is the fractional change in volume under


pressure
Units are as Pressure (V/V has no units) : Nm-2

Compressibility: K
K = 1/B N-1m2

[3.5]

For water: K ~ 4.9 x 10-10 N-1m2


NOTE: Often V/V is very small when material is
pressurised, so K is small and B is large
Shear modulus:
Measure of resistance to being bent by a stress T
= T/ Nm-2

[3.6]

is in radians

T
(Stress)

For liquids = 0

Poissons Ratio:
l

Measure of how much a body contracts in a


direction perpendicular to the direction of

stretch.
= d/d
l/l
Hard objects: ~ 0.05

Soft Objects: ~ 0.25

No Units
[3.7]

Lames Modulus:
Put an upward stress Tz, produce a

Tz

strain eZ

ez

Cube tries to contract sideways

{PINCH}

Tx

Counteract with stress Tx to


oppose pinch
= Tx / eZ = (horiz. Stress / vert. Strain) [3.8]
Units are Nm-2

Elastic, Isotropic materials


For any perfectly elastic, isotropic material
only two of the above 5 constants [Y, B, , and
] are required the others are all inter-related.
Useful relations:

Y
2(1 + )
Y
B=
3(1 2 )

= B 23 =

Y
(1 + )(1 2 )

[3.9]
[3.10]
[3.11]

Sound in materials (Outline)


If there is a strain gradient in a material then
the material will move

Force


x x

Where is the displacement and from [3.2] /x is


the strain. So a unit volume of density kgm-3 will be
accelerated.
For a unit volume {1m3} block of material

2
Force = 2
t

For longitudinal waves this leads to:

2 + 2 2
=
2
x 2
t
This is the wave equation [1.3] with

v=

+ 2

[3.12]

Earthquakes:
In the earths crust these are known as P waves

Rewriting the phase velocity equation:


Using [3.11] we can replace Lames Modulus () with
the bulk modulus (B) and the density ():

v=

B + 43

[3.13]

Or convert to Youngs Modulus (Y) and Poissons


ratio () using [3.9] and [3.11]:

v=

Y (1 )
(1 + )(1 2 )

[3.14]

As noted above, often ~ , therefore:

So that

1.5
Y
1 .1
ms 1
1.25

[3.15]

is a good approximation to the wave

velocity of longitudinal waves through solids (good to


about 10%).
Steel as an example:
For steel Y ~ 2 x 10 11 Nm-2 and ~ 8000 kg m-3
=>

v ~ 5000 ms-1

Waves in a thin bar


For waves in a thin bar the velocity is

v=

ms-1

Compared to the bulk material: v 1.1 Y

[3.16]

ms-1

So the speed of longitudinal waves (sound) in a bulk


material is about 10% higher.
A thin bar can have lateral contractions

as the wave passes in a bulk material this is more


difficult, so it appears to have a higher effective bulk
modulus.

Transverse (Shear) waves


The velocity of transverse waves is given by (again
without proof):

v=

[3.17]

Using [3.9]:

v=

Y
2 (1 + )

[3.18]

As with longitudinal waves use an average Poissons


ratio =0.25:

Y
2.5

v 0.63

Using [3.14]/[3.18]

Velocity of P waves
2(1 )
=
Velocity of S waves
1 2
For ~ 0.25:
Speed of P waves 3 Speed S waves or

v P 1.73vS

[3.19]

Waves in liquids and gasses


Waves in gases and in the bulk of liquids (not
on the surface) are all longitudinal waves
The shear modulus for liquids and gasses is zero.
Speed of sound in a liquid

v=

OR v =

1
K

[3.20],[3.21]

Where B is the Bulk Modulus and is the density,


Where K is the compressibility, K ~ 4.9 x 10-10 N-1m2
for water. So a typical speed in water (=1000 kg m-3) is
vwater ~ 1428 ms-1
Speed of sound in a gas

v=

RT
M

[3.22]

Where
ratio of specific heats (cp/cv), 1.4 for air
R gas constant, 8.3 J mol-1 K-1 for all gases
M Molar mass,

M=0.029 kg mol-1 for air

T Temperature in Kelvin,

T ~ 300 K (Room Temp)

So a typical speed is vair ~ 346 ms-1

Notice form of wave speed formulas:

v=

" Stiffness" of medium


" Mass" of medium

[3.23]

Bulk Solids

v=

Y = Youngs Modulus, = density

Liquids

v=

B = Bulk Modulus, = density

Thin bar / wire

v=

T = tension, mass/meter

[ is NOT shear modulus]

Remember the form of the equation for the


velocity

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