Linear Elastic Waves

Wave propagation and scattering are among the most fundamental processes that we use to comprehend the world around us. While these processes are often very complex, one way to begin to understand them is to study wave propagation in the linear approximation. This is a book describing such propagation using, as a context, the equations of elasticity. Two unifying themes are used. The first is that an understanding of plane wave interactions is fundamental to understanding more complex wave interactions. The second is that waves are best understood in an asymptotic approximation where they are free of the complications of their excitation and are governed primarily by their propagation environments. The topics covered include reflection, refraction, the propagation of interfacial waves, integral representations, radiation and diffraction, and propagation in closed and open waveguides.

John G. Harris received an undergraduate degree (honors) in 1971 from McGill University, where he studied electrical engineering and gained a lasting interest in wave propagation. In 1979, he received a doctoral degree in applied mathematics from Northwestern University for a thesis on elastic-wave diffraction problems. Following this, he joined the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Department at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), where he teaches dynamics and mathematical methods and carries out research on elastic-wave problems at microwave frequencies. He has used asymptotic methods of analysis to explore diffraction and imaging, propagation and scattering of interfacial waves, and waveguiding