Interface effects on the diffraction of plane compressional waves by a nanosized spherical inclusion

Effects of surfaces/interfaces become prominent in micro- and nanosized materials and devices. In the present paper, the diffraction of plane harmonic compressional waves (P wave) by a spherical nanoinclusion is studied theoretically using the surface/interface elasticity theory. The results demonstrated that when the inclusion size shrinks to nanometers, surface/interface elasticity plays a significant role in the diffraction of elastic waves. For incident waves of different frequencies, the interface effects on the dynamic stress concentration around the spherical inclusion are examined in detail. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.