Generation of elastic stress waves at a corner junction of square rods

Fourier techniques are used to predict the transmitted and reflected waves at an L-joint in rods of square cross-section. The expressions for both longitudinal and flexural wave components are derived for a variable angle of connection for the rods. These components are evaluated for a 90° angle of connection and an arbitrary longitudinal input pulse. The predicted waves are compared with experimental results at a number of locations away from the joint for an input pulse with wavelengths which are large compared with the cross-sectional dimensions of the rods. Good agreement is obtained for all waves. For the flexural wave this agreement is shown to improve with distance from the joint. This confirms the adequacy of elementary and Timoshenko beam theory to describe the longitudinal and flexural wave motions respectively. The results demonstrate the applicability of Fourier techniques to the solution of stress wave propagation in rods.