Impact waves in soft bilayer tissues
Abstract
In this study, we investigate impact-wave propagation in a pre-stressed compressible hyperelastic bilayer resting on a frictionless rigid substrate within the framework of nonlinear elasticity. Semi-analytical solutions for the transient displacement fields induced by localized surface impulses are derived using the Fourier-Laplace transform, and their long-time asymptotic behavior is obtained through the method of stationary phase. Finite element simulations are further performed to validate the theoretical predictions. The results establish a direct connection between characteristic features of the transient displacement fields and the group velocities of the guided-wave modes, revealing how dispersive propagation and modal contributions shape the observed waveforms. Three representative bilayer models corresponding to human articular cartilage, gingiva, and skin are then considered to examine the effects of variations in layer stiffness and thickness. The results show that structural and material variations can substantially modify the spatial distribution, arrival positions, and characteristic velocities of impact waves. In particular, higher-order modes can make significant contributions to the displacement response in certain parameter regimes, such that the dominant features of the wavefield cannot always be characterized by the fundamental mode alone. These findings demonstrate that transient-wave measurements contain mechanical information beyond that captured by a single characteristic surface-wave velocity and provide a theoretical basis for interpreting transient wavefields in multilayered soft materials and for future non-invasive mechanical characterization.
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BibTeX
@misc{liu2026impact,
title = {{Impact waves in soft bilayer tissues}},
author = {Zhenwei Liu and Yang Liu and Michel Destrade and Yue-Sheng Wang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.11705},
eprint = {2609.11705},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11705},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Impact waves in soft bilayer tissues
AU - Zhenwei Liu
AU - Yang Liu
AU - Michel Destrade
AU - Yue-Sheng Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/10
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.11705
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11705
AB - In this study, we investigate impact-wave propagation in a pre-stressed compressible hyperelastic bilayer resting on a frictionless rigid substrate within the framework of nonlinear elasticity. Semi-analytical solutions for the transient displacement fields induced by localized surface impulses are derived using the Fourier-Laplace transform, and their long-time asymptotic behavior is obtained through the method of stationary phase. Finite element simulations are further performed to validate the theoretical predictions. The results establish a direct connection between characteristic features of the transient displacement fields and the group velocities of the guided-wave modes, revealing how dispersive propagation and modal contributions shape the observed waveforms. Three representative bilayer models corresponding to human articular cartilage, gingiva, and skin are then considered to examine the effects of variations in layer stiffness and thickness. The results show that structural and material variations can substantially modify the spatial distribution, arrival positions, and characteristic velocities of impact waves. In particular, higher-order modes can make significant contributions to the displacement response in certain parameter regimes, such that the dominant features of the wavefield cannot always be characterized by the fundamental mode alone. These findings demonstrate that transient-wave measurements contain mechanical information beyond that captured by a single characteristic surface-wave velocity and provide a theoretical basis for interpreting transient wavefields in multilayered soft materials and for future non-invasive mechanical characterization.
ER -