Acceleration waves analyzed by a new continuum model of solids incorporating microscopic thermal vibrations

Acceleration waves propagating in isotropic solids at finite temperatures are studied by applying the method of singular surfaces to a new continuum model derived statistical-mechanically from a three-dimensional lattice model. The continuum model explicitly takes into account the microscopic thermal vibrations of the constituent atoms as one of the field variables. The propagation speeds and the ratios of mechanical and thermal amplitudes for both longitudinal and transverse waves are consistently determined. The differential equations that govern the time variation of the amplitudes of the waves are also derived. The analytical results, which are valid over a wide temperature range that includes the melting point, are evaluated numerically for several materials, and their physical implications are discussed. One of the findings to be emphasized is that of the singularities of the characteristic quantities at the melting point.