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2 Basic equations 3 Wave equation 4 Plane waves 5 Isotropic media 6 References |
Linear elasticity
The linear theory of elasticity models the macroscopic mechanical properties of solids assuming "small" deformations.
Basic equations
Linear elastodynamics is based on three tensor equations:
and constitute an eigenvalue/eigenvector pair of theacoustic algebraic operator
denotes propagation direction
and is phase velocity.
Isotropic media
In isotropic media, the elasticity tensor has the form
is incompressibility, and is rigidity.Hence the acoustic algebraic operator becomes
denotes the tensor product, is the identity matrix, and
with eigenvectors parallel and orthogonal to the propagation direction
, respectively.
In the seismological literature, the corresponding plane waves are called P-waves and S-waves (see Seismic wave).
References