Derivation of Elastic Wave Equation from New Motion Description

Abstract: In classical mechanics, the motion of an object is described with Newton's three laws of motion, which means that the motion of the material elements composing a continuum can be described with the particle model. However, this viewpoint is not objective, since the existence of transverse wave cannot be predicted by the theory of elasticity based on the particle model. In this paper, the material element of an elastomer is regarded as a rigid body, and the traditional elastic wave equation is derived based on it. In the derivation, the constitutive relations and strain-displacement relations are correspondingly modified. The study reveals that the longitudinal and transverse waves in elastomer correspond to the translational and rotational motion of the material element, respectively. Besides, the reciprocity of shear stress and shear strain is no longer requisite in continuum mechanics, and the local rigid body rotation contributes stress.