Propagation of steady shock waves in non-linear thermoviscoelastic solids

This paper is concerned with the dynamic response of a class of thermoviscoelastic solids. In particular a specific one-dimensional model, consistent with the laws of continuum thermodynamics, is proposed and applied to the problem of the propagation of steady shock waves. The governing equations are written in terms of material response functions which can be determined from shock wave, thermophysical, and bulk response data. The results of the analysis are compared with experimental steady wave studies involving the solid polymer, polymethyl methacrylate.