On the Thermal Shock Wave Induced by a Moving Heat Source

Analytical solutions for the temperature field around a moving heat source in a solid with finite speed of heat propagation are obtained via the method of Green’s functions. When the speed of the moving heat source is equal to or faster than that of the thermal wave propagated in the solid, the thermal shock wave is shown to exist in the thermal field. The shock wave angle is obtained as sin−1 (1/M) for M ≥1. Orientation of crack initiation in the vicinity of the heat source is also estimated by considering the temperature gradient T,θ along the circumference of a continuum circle centered at the heat source. Such an orientation is established as a function of the thermal Mach number in the subsonic, transonic, and supersonic regimes, respectively.