Steady‐State Wave Propagation in Infinite Bars of Noncircular Cross Section

An approximate solution to the equations of elasticity is obtained for the problems of steady‐state longitudinal, flexural, and torsional wave propagation in isotropic bars of infinite length and rectangular cross section. Results were obtained for sections with various ratios of width to depth. These results indicate that, in a phase‐velocity versus wavenumber plot, the higher branches exhibit a certain minimum feature; i.e., these branches approach their limiting value at bγ = ∞ from below. This feature has not been reported in the case of bars with a circular cross section.