Abstract
The objective of this study is to obtain the propagation velocity of an elastic wave in a loaded isotropic solid and to show the usefulness of the third-order elastic constant in determining properties of practical materials. As is well known, the infinitesimal elastic theory is unable to express the influence of stress on elastic wave propagating in loaded materials. To solve this problem, the authors derive an equation of motion for elastic wave in a finitely deformed state and use the Lagrangian description where the state before deformation is used as a reference, and Murnaghans finite deformation theory for the unidirectional deformed isotropic solid. Ordinary derivatives were used for the mathematical treatment and although the formulas are long the content is simple. The theory is applied to the measurement of the third-order elastic constants of common steels containing carbon of 0.22 and 0.32 wt%. Care is taken in preparing specimens to precise dimensions, in properly adhering of transducer to the surface of the specimen, and in having good temperature control during the measurements to obtain precise data. As a result, the stress at various sites in the structural materials could be estimated by measuring the elastic wave propagation times. The results obtained are graphed for illustration.
Keywords: Third-order elastic modulus, Elastic wave, Stress, Propagation time
Background
There is little discussion of the practical application of the third-order elastic constants from the viewpoint of engineering. The third-order elastic constants and its mathematical procedure of practical materials were first reported by Hughes and Kelly (1953), however their mathematical treatments were difficult to understand.
In this paper we introduced the formulas to show the relationship between the velocity of the elastic wave propagation and the stresses under the assumption that the elastic waves propagate in the unidirectional loaded isotropic materials. Cast in plain mathematics, we use Murnaghans finite elastic theory (Murnaghan 1951) combined with the Lagrangian description for a simpler description.
Three coordinate systems were used to treat the elastic waves in the finitely deformed solid; the first coordinate system corresponds to the non-deformed state, the second to the statically finitely deformed state, and the third to the state where an infinitesimal dynamical deformation is superposed on the finite deformation of the second state.
The application of our formulas in estimating unknown stresses were tested by measuring the ratio of change in propagation time to stress for the common steels. The points to be elaborated are based on followings;
-
(A)
Use of the Lagrangian description for an unloaded non-deformed isotropic object;
-
(B)
Propagation of an elastic wave in a finitely deformed object loaded and stressed in the uniaxial direction.
-
(C)
Derivation of the propagation velocity of the elastic wave in a loaded object from the viewpoint of Murnaghans’s finite deformation theory;
-
(D)
Application of the third-order elastic constants to the stress measurement.
Coordinates
The coordinates of the unloaded and non-deformed isotropic object are denoted by , and expressed as , here
The coordinates in the statically and elastically deformed state are denoted by , then expressed as , and the displacements are denoted by , , , then expressed similarly by , here , , , so
The coordinates of the statically deformed state superposed by the elastic wave are denoted similarly by . The infinitesimal displacement of elastic wave are denoted by , then expressed by , here , so
- When the coordinate in the non-deformed state changes to the coordinate of the finitely deformed state by applying load and further applying the infinitesimal displacement of , the coordinates are expressed as formula (1) as
1
Strain
Total strain superposed by the infinitesimal strain of elastic wave on the static strain is expressed as formula (2) as
| 2 |
| 3 |
where subscripts , , and take 1, 2, and 3. We assume that Greek lettered subscripts are summed indices, but Roman lettered subscripts are not summed. : Kronecker’s delta, when , , and ,
Using formula (1), formula (2) is rewritten as
| 4 |
The first term in formula (4) corresponds to of formula (3) whereas the second term corresponds to . After this, the derivation of the formula stands on the following assumptions,
Terms equal or higher than second order in the infinitesimal displacement gradient can be neglected.
Terms equal or higher than third-order products of and the finite displacement gradient can be neglected.
Next, in formula (4) is written as
| 5 |
In the above formula (5), the two terms in the first factor are symmetric with regard to interchanging i and j; then interchanging , and in the second factor, and similarly changing the subscript of the Greek alphabet in the yields
| 6 |
Accordingly , and the infinitesimal strain is symmetric.
See Appendix A about the calculations of , , and .
Stresses
Static stress
Following Murnaghan’s theory, static stress is written as
| 7 |
where is the Jacobian matrix, the free energy per unit volume of deformed isotropic solid, and the density of isotropic solid in non-deformed state. The free energy per unit volume can be written in terms of the strain invariants
| 8 |
and hence its derivatives with respect to the static strain coefficients are
| 9 |
where and are the Lamé constants, are Murnaghan’s third-order elastic constants, and the strain invariants are defined by
| 10 |
| 11 |
The derivatives of the above invariants of and are given as,
| 12 |
| 13 |
Thus the derivative of the free energy with respect to , for example, becomes
| 14 |
See Appendix B on the derivative with respect to , , , , .
Infinitesimal stress of elastic wave
The total stress is defined as the sum of the infinitesimal stress and the static stress , that is,
| 15 |
Using formula (7) and replacing for , formula (15) is rewritten as
| 16 |
| 17 |
Here the elements of the Jacobian matrix are expressed as
| 18 |
Using the above formula (18),
| 19 |
| 20 |
See Appendix C about expressions for the derivatives of , , and .
| 21 |
Setting , and in the , yield
| 22 |
Expanding formula (22) using formula (14) then gives
| 23 |
See Appendix D for a detailed derivation. Other derivatives are similarly obtained
An expression for / can be obtained through changing subscripts 12, 23, 31 in the formula 23).
The formula of can be obtained in a similar manner. Also
| 24 |
and hence by
| 25 |
Using the above formulas (21) to (25), formula (17) for the infinitesimal stress is rewritten as follows.
| 26 |
See Appendix E for details of the derivation for . Also,
| 27 |
| 28 |
In the expression for , the subscripts of 1, 2, and 3 for and change cyclically with 1 2, 2 3, 3 1. Similarly, indices 4, 5, 6 change cyclically like 4 5, 5 6, 6 4.
For and , the subscripts change cyclically as well with 1 2, 2 3, 3 1. Hence from
| 29 |
we obtain
| 30 |
See 13 about induction process of .
| 31 |
can be obtained from formula (31) for by substituting elements as follows:
and retaining the elements within the parentheses as these are unaffected by the interchange in the formula of .
is expressible as
| 32 |
from which can be obtained by changing elements , , , , while retaining the elements in the parentheses as these are unaffected by the index interchanges.
Propagation velocity of elastic wave to the direction of static uniaxial stress
The infinitesimal displacement of an elastic wave is expressed as
| 33 |
where A is the amplitude, the angular frequency, the wave number, and the imaginary unit.
The equation of motion for an elastic wave is written as
| 34 |
The various expansions of formula (34) are given as (A) to (E) as bellow:
- (A)
-
(B)For transverse wave
41
the others are 0,
then42 43
where the term of is also neglected in a similar way to formula (39).44 -
(C)For transverse wave
45 46 47 -
(D)For longitudinal wave
48 49 50 -
(E)For transverse wave
51 52 53
Measurement of the propagation velocity of elastic waves and the third-order elastic constants
Figure 1 gives a diagram of the axial cross-section through a specimen for tensile testing. In its fabrication, we had to take special care in mixing the raw materials, melting, casting, annealing, and precision working to fix the final form. As stress in the gripping regions is complicated, and should be eliminated, two specimens with identical grip sizes but different gauge lengths were prepared (Takahashi and Motegi 1987).
Figure 1.

Specimen.
A transducer was attached at the face of the long axis of the specimen fixed with a chuck with the lead wire. The transducer, a 2–5 MHz PZT, was used for both longitudinal and transverse waves in our experiment. The adhesion conditions between transducer and specimen produced an influence on the accuracy of measurements. The room temperature was kept constant during the measurement. In the above formulas (A)–(E) in the Sect. (4.3), the propagation velocity of elastic waves depends on factor and the second or the third-order elastic modulus.
| 54 |
where is the strain dependency coefficient. Thus, for example
| 55 |
Without load, . If is written as in formula (56), then using from formula (39),
| 56 |
Similarly is written as in formula (57). Then letting and using as in formula (50), we have
| 57 |
The values of and can be obtained from measuring , and strain in the formula (54). The value of is necessary to obtain the third-order elastic constants. From the obtained , , , and Lame’s constants , , and Poisson’s ratio , Murnaghan’s third order elastic constants are given as:
| 58 |
| 59 |
| 60 |
Engineering application of the third order elastic constants
When the third-order elastic constants are a priori obtained for the structural materials, the stress situation in various sites in the material can be estimated by measuring the elastic wave propagation times. These applications are given in both Japanese and USA patents (Takahashi 2007, 2012).
Figure 2 shows the stress measurement for structural object under an applied load of using an elastic wave. We denoted the width of the non-loaded object by .
Figure 2.

Schematic diagram of stress measurement system.
The propagation time is defined by the following,
| 61 |
where is the propagation velocity of the elastic wave in the non-loaded object and the strain dependency coefficient.
Formula (61) is rearranged to give
| 62 |
where is propagation time in the non-loaded object and is the change ratio in propagation time with .
If we know , E, and , the value of can be obtained through measuring using formula (62).
Figure 3 shows the relationship between the change ratio in propagation time with stress for the carbon steel samples S20C and S30C.
Figure 3.

Change ratio in propagation time vs stresses.
Table 1 shows the chemical composition for both S20C and S30C samples of which were used in the stress experiment.
Table 1.
Chemical composition of S20C and S30C specimens (wt%)
| Sample | C | Si | Mn |
|---|---|---|---|
| S20C | 0.22 | 0.29 | 0.52 |
| S30C | 0.32 | 0.31 | 0.81 |
Discussion
The coordinates used for describing an isotropic solid before deformation, the large non-linear displacement, and the infinitesimal displacement of the elastic wave have been clearly defined using orthogonal Cartesian coordinates. The expressions for stress and strain as presented in Eqs. (6) and (21) are polynomial and the strain tensor is symmetric, so their development becomes comparatively easy. The theory reported by Hughes and Kelly (1953) for the measurement of the third-order elastic constants of practical materials is difficult because of its unique treatment of the strain and the use of special coordinate functions as well as of the bulk modulus to obtain the third-order elastic constants. Our method using the tensile testing machine is easy to apply in the measurement of the parameters necessary for the determination of these elastic constants. Murnaghans third-order elastic constants can be obtained from their changes with time. We demonstrated that they are very useful for the evaluation of stress in structural materials and in the identification of materials. The density of the material is not required in obtaining these changes and hence the method is of great benefit in practical applications. In establishing the equation of motion of elastic wave, the infinitesimal strain, stress, and Jacobian are found to be the main elements along with the load stress. The carbon content and the stress applied to the carbon steel are varied systematically in accordance with the relation of frequency ratio with stress (Takahashi et al. 1978) and also from the relation of stress with the time rate of change of the longitudinal and transverse waves (Takahashi and Motegi 1987). These provide the fundamental data for stress measurements and are essential for the identification of materials. In stress measurements of actual structures, it is necessary to collect quantitative data under various conditions as laboratory conditions are hard to establish.
Conclusion
The change of propagation velocity of elastic wave due to the static stress cannot be expressed essentially by the infinitesimal elastic theory. The second and the third-order elastic moduli and additional elastic strains contribute to the change in propagation velocity. The analysis of the applied stress, strain, infinitesimal stress of elastic wave and its strain related to an isotropic elastic body were performed using the theory of Murnaghan combined with the Lagrangian description. The formulas are lengthy, but the contents is simple. Our analytical procedure is different to that of Hughes and Kelly (1953), however the results obtained were equivalent in regard to the equations giving the propagation velocity of an elastic wave.
Finally this paper demonstrated that the third-order elastic constants for engineering materials were useful in estimating the unknown stresses of structural materials.
Nomenclature
- , ,
coordinate of the non-deformed state
- , ,
coordinate of the statically and finitely deformed state
- , ,
coordinate of the state where dynamic and infinitesimal deformations are superposed on the finitely deformed state.
- , ,
coordinated for finite displacement
- , ,
coordinates for infinitesimal displacement
static strain coefficients in the finitely deformed state
infinitesimal strain coefficients of the elastic wave
coefficients for total strain superposed by the infinitesimal strain of on the static strain
Kronecker’s delta function
- , ,
strain invariants
density in the non-deformed state
free energy per unit volume
Jacobian matrix in the finitely deformed state
- ,
Jacobian matrix in the infinitesimal deformed state, and the total Jacobian matrix
- , ,
Murnahan’s third-order elastic constants
- ,
Lamé constants
- E
Young’s modulus
stress in the finitely deformed state
stress in the infinitesimal deformed state
total stress superposed by the on the stress
- ,
angular frequency and wave number
Poisson’s ratio
amplitude
elastic wave velocity
- ,
greek letter subscripts indicate summation over all spacial indices 1, 2 and 3, for example
Authors’ contribution
ST carried out the measurement of the third-order elastic constants and applications to practical materials and drafted the manuscript. RM participated in the experiment and the discussions. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Hiroshi Iwasaki and Kazuhiko Seki for their fruitful discussions.
Compliance with ethical guidelines
Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Appendix A
The following presents a calculation of using formula (6) of the main text
| 63 |
| 64 |
We then neglect higher-order terms of and set , ,
,
With the change in subscripts of given as follows,
, , , , ,
we obtain
| 65 |
Also changing the subscripts as prescribed by and produces the other coefficients of infinitesimal strain,
| 66 |
| 67 |
| 68 |
In similar manner with , replacing and with 1, 2, 3, and summing up each term, we find on neglecting higher orders involving the derivative terms,
| 69 |
| 70 |
| 71 |
We then use the following expressions
| 72 |
and the following relation
| 73 |
which can be applied in the case of an isotropic object, to simplify the expression for each of the infinitesimal strains.
Appendix B
| 74 |
| 75 |
| 76 |
| 77 |
| 78 |
Derivatives of the free energy with respect to , , and are equivalent to those above because of the symmetry .
Given the definition of the invariants and in terms of the infinitesimal strain,
| 79 |
and
| 80 |
then their partial derivatives follow directly;
, , , ,
, .
The expression of the first invariant can be used to obtain
| 81 |
Appendix C
From the definition of the Jacobian matrix, we have the following expressions:
| 82 |
| 83 |
| 84 |
Similar expression for , , and the others can be obtained from the formula,
=.
Appendix D
We develop here an approximation for the partial derivative of with respect to static strain to illustrate our procedure:
| 85 |
| 86 |
| 87 |
| 88 |
| 89 |
| 90 |
| 91 |
Appendix E
We develop here an approximation for the stress in the infinitesimal deformed state using to illustrate our procedure:
| 92 |
| 93 |
Using the formulas for etc in Appendix C, we then obtain
| 94 |
| 95 |
| 96 |
| 97 |
| 98 |
| 99 |
Contributor Information
Sennosuke Takahashi, Email: fwnk4784@nifty.com.
Ryohei Motegi, Email: motegiryohei@gmail.com.
References
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