Thermoelastic wave propagation in inhomogeneous media

A novel approach to the modeling of thermoelastic wave propagation is presented, based on the thermodynamics of discrete systems. The first novelty includes the representation of integral balance laws for thermoelasticity in terms of contact quantities that describe the nonequilibrium state of elements. The next new aspect is a modification of the recently proposed wave-propagation algorithm, which is used as a tool for determining the contact quantities in a finite-volume scheme for the numerical simulation of two-dimensional thermoelastic wave propagation in inhomogeneous media. Such a modification is needed to provide the satisfaction of the thermodynamic consistency conditions between adjacent discrete elements. Results of computations for certain test problems show the efficiency and physical consistency of the algorithm.