Phase nucleation and wave propagation in phase-transforming strings. A rate-type approach

This paper uses a rate-type approach of the non-monotone elasticity to describe large and rapid motions of a string made of a phase transforming material like shape memory alloy (SMA). The nucleation mechanism, the propagation of phase boundaries, of longitudinal and transverse front waves are carefully analyzed. The influence of the slope of the equilibrium curve on the growth and decay of the amplitude of the first and second order discontinuities is studied. The nucleation and wave propagation phenomena which accompany the damping effect of SMA string submitted to a sudden transverse motion are numerically investigated.