Thermoelastic waves in an anisotropic infinite plate

An analysis of the propogation of thermoelastic waves in a homogeneous, anisotropic, thermally conducting plate has been presented in the context of the generalized Lord-Shulman theory of thermoelasticity. Three different methods are used in this analysis: two of them are exact and the third is a semianalytic finite element method (SAFE). In our exact analysis, two different approaches are used. The first one, which is applicable to transversely isotropic plate, is based on introducing displacement potential functions, whereas in the second approach, which is applicable to any triclinic material, we rewrite the governing equations and boundary conditions in a matrix form. Finally, in the SAFE method, the plate is discretized along its thickness using N parallel, homogeneous layers, which are perfectly bonded together. Frequency spectrum and dispersion curves are obtained using the three methods and are shown to agree well with each other. The effects of thermal relaxation time and coupling term are also investigated. Numerical calculations have been presented for a silicon nitride sSi3N4d plate. However, the methods can be used for other materials as well. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1776323]