Stress wave are waves which cause deformation on material.

if a stress wave is created, it is

difficult to resolve it by traditional rigid body dynamics theory(Leppanen,2012). Instead of analyzing in
terms of kinetic energy, it is possible to analyze it in terms of wave propagation ( Svensson & Tell, 2015).
There different kinds of stress wave which can propagate through a material. According to Meyer (1994),
these waves are distinguished by the motion of the particle in the material; namely, longitudinal and
transverse wave. Longitudinal wave is created when the particle is moving in the same direction as the
incident wave. As the particle move closer to each other, compressive stress is present in the material. a
transverse wave is created when the particles are moving perpendicular to the incident wave. The
transverse wave will cause shear stress in the material which the waves propagates through ( Meyer,
1994).

In accordance of Rayleigh’s wave theory, stress waves include both longitudinal and transverse
motions that decrease exponentially in amplitude as distance from the surface increases. (Telford,
Geldart, & Sheriff, 1990). The wave has a high energy on the surface but as it propagates inward in the
material, the energy of the wave decays exponentially (Meyer, 1994).

Reference:

Meyers, Marc A. (1994) Dynamic behavior of materials. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Telford, W. M., Telford, W. M., Geldart, L. P., & Sheriff, R. E. (1990). Applied geophysics (Vol. 1). Cambridge
university press.

Svensson, T., & Tell, F. (2015). Stress Wave Propagation Between Different Materials. Retrieved February
24, 2018, from
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