The influence of heat conduction on propagating stress jumps

The propagation of discontinuities of the stresses and the temperatures is studied in a one-dimensional medium, in which the displacement and the temperature fields are coupled, and in which the transport of heat takes place at a finite velocity. It is shown that the application of a thermal or a mechanical disturbance gives rise to two wave fronts, whose speeds are expressed in terms of the material constants. The temperatures at the wave fronts are discontinuous unless Fourier's classical law of heat conduction is valid. The jumps at the wave fronts decay exponentially, and expressions for the exponents in terms of the material constants are presented. All results are obtained through application of the theory of propagating surfaces of discontinuity.