Propagation of sech2-type solitary waves in higher-order KdV-type systems

Wave propagation in microstructured media is essentially influenced by nonlinear and dispersive effects. The simplest model governing these effects results in the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation. In the present paper a KdV-type evolution equation, including the third- and fifth-order dispersive and the fourth-order nonlinear terms, is used for modelling the wave propagation in microstructured solids like martensitic-austenitic alloys. The model equation is solved numerically under localised initial conditions. Possible solution types are defined and discussed. The existence of a threshold is established. Below the threshold, the relatively small solitary waves decay in time. However, if the amplitude exceeds a certain threshold, i.e., the critical value, then such a solitary wave can propagate with nearly a constant speed and amplitude and consequently conserve the energy.