Some Theoretical and Experimental Extensions Based on the Properties of the Intrinsic Transfer Matrix

The work approaches new theoretical and experimental studies in the elastic characterization of materials, based on the properties of the intrinsic transfer matrix. The term ‘intrinsic transfer matrix’ was firstly introduced by us in order to characterize the system in standing wave case, when the stationary wave is confined inside the sample. An important property of the intrinsic transfer matrix is that at resonance, and in absence of attenuation, the eigenvalues are real. This property underlies a numerical method which permits to find the phase velocity for the longitudinal wave in a sample. This modal approach is a numerical method which takes into account the eigenvalues, which are analytically estimated for simple elastic systems. Such elastic systems are characterized by a simple distribution of eigenmodes, which may be easily highlighted by experiment. The paper generalizes the intrinsic transfer matrix method by including the attenuation and a study of the influence of inhomogeneity. The condition for real eigenvalues in that case shows that the frequencies of eigenmodes are not affected by attenuation. For the influence of inhomogeneity, we consider a case when the sound speed is varying along the layer’s length in the medium of interest, with an accompanying dispersion. The paper also studies the accuracy of the method in estimating the wave velocity and determines an optimal experimental setup in order to reduce the influence of frequency errors.

Numerical Solution of Three-Dimensional Transient Heat Conduction Equation in Cylindrical Coordinates

Heat equation is a partial differential equation used to describe the temperature distribution in a heat-conducting body. The implementation of a numerical solution method for heat equation can vary with the geometry of the body. In this study, a three-dimensional transient heat conduction equation was solved by approximating second-order spatial derivatives by five-point central differences in cylindrical coordinates. The stability condition of the numerical method was discussed. A MATLAB code was developed to implement the numerical method. An example was provided in order to demonstrate the method. The numerical solution by the method was in a good agreement with the exact solution for the example considered. The accuracy of the five-point central difference method was compared with that of the three-point central difference method in solving the heat equation in cylindrical coordinates. The solutions obtained by the numerical method in cylindrical coordinates were displayed in the Cartesian coordinate system graphically. The method requires relatively very small time steps for a given mesh spacing to avoid computational instability. The result of this study can provide insights to use appropriate coordinates and more accurate computational methods in solving physical problems described by partial differential equations.