The Influence of the Curvature of Spherical Waves on Dynamic Stress Concentration

Abstract

From a study of scattering of spherical compressional waves by a spherical cavity in an elastic solid, the dynamic stresses on the surface of the cavity are computed and compared with those due to plane compressional waves. At low frequencies, stresses due to spherical waves, even with a very small curvature, are higher than the corresponding ones for plane waves. Only when the incident wavelength is shorter than the distance between the source and the cavity can a spherical wave be approximated by a plane wave.