Longitudinal Impact of a Semi-Infinite, Cylindrical, Viscoelastic Shell

Abstract

The response of a semi-infinite, cylindrical, viscoelastic shell to longitudinal impact is studied using the Laplace transform. The evaluation by asymptotic methods for large values of time also gives error estimates defining the range of applicability. It is found that, at sufficiently large distances from the point of impact, the oscillatory character of the response of an elastic shell to longitudinal impact is suppressed by viscous effects, resulting in nearly identical solutions for a viscoelastic shell and for an infinitely thin viscoelastic rod of the same material. In addition, it is shown that the solutions for shell and rod, with limitations, are also nearly identical for smaller values of time, where nonasymptotic solutions for the rod apply.