Spectral analysis of wave motion in plane solids with boundaries

A spectral formulation is employed whereby in-plane stress waves are synthesized from the superposition of components at discrete frequencies and wavenumbers. The summations are performed using the fast Fourier transform and the Fourier series, respectively. Because the components are discrete, the solution to problems (over the entire field) with completely arbitrary loading, both in time and space, is made tractable. Waves generated from a line load acting on an infinite and semiinfinite plane are first considered. A cascade approach is then adopted for the treatment of these waves incident on a free, fixed, and elastic boundary. At each stage, the results are compared with those obtained from the available classical solutions and/or finite element results. These studies will form the basis for the investigation of in-plane stress waves in multiply layered media.