Plane waves in linear elastic materials with voids

The behavior of plane harmonic waves in a linear elastic material with voids is analyzed. There are two dilational waves in this theory, one is predominantly the dilational wave of classical linear elasticity and the other is predominantly a wave carrying a change in the void volume fraction. Both waves are found to attenuate in their direction of propagation, to be dispersive and dissipative. At large frequencies the predominantly elastic wave propagates with the classical elastic dilational wave speed, but at low frequencies it propagates at a speed less than the classical speed. It makes a smooth but relatively distinct transition between these wave speeds in a relatively narrow range of frequency, the same range of frequency in which the specific loss has a relatively sharp peak. Dispersion curves and graphs of specific loss are given for four particular, but hypothetical, materials, corresponding to four cases of the solution.