Confined Elastodynamics

Abstract

Chapter 10, on confined elastodynamics, presents an approximate theory of elastodynamics, in which the horizontal deformations are artificially assumed to vanish, an approximation due to Westergaard and generalized by Barends. This makes it possible to solve a variety of problems by simple means, and resulting in relatively simple solutions. It should be remembered that these are approximate solutions only, and that important features of the complete solutions, such as the generation of Rayleigh waves, are excluded. These approximate solutions are included in the present book because they are so much simpler to derive and to analyze than the full elastodynamic solutions. The full elastodynamic solutions of the problems considered in this chapter are given in Chaps. 11–13.