Impact induced solitary wave propagation through a woodpile structure

In this paper, we investigate solitary wave propagation through a one-dimensional woodpile structure excited by low and high velocity impact. Woodpile structures are a sub-class of granular metamaterial, which supports propagation of nonlinear waves. Hertz contact law governs the behavior of the solitary wave propagation through the granular media. Towards an experimental study, a woodpile structure was fabricated by orthogonally stacking cylindrical rods. A shock tube facility has been developed to launch an impactor on the woodpile structure at a velocity of 30 m s(-1). Embedded granular chain sensors were fabricated to study the behavior of the solitary wave. The impact induced stress wave is studied to investigate solitary wave parameters, i.e. contact force, contact time, and solitary wave velocity. With the aid of the experimental setup, numerical simulations, and a theoretical solution based on the long wavelength approximation, formation of the solitary wave in the woodpile structure is validated to a reasonable degree of accuracy. The nondispersive and compact supported solitary waves traveling at sonic wave velocity offer unique properties that could be leveraged for application in nondestructive testing and structural health monitoring.