Wave propagation through bimodular geomaterial with damping

In this paper we study wave propagation in a bimodular geomaterial, i.e. a material that has different moduli in compression and in tension. It is assumed that damping is the same for compression and tension. We use a discrete model to analyse the process of wave propagation in such a material. The model consists of a discrete chain of masses connected by dampers and bilinear springs that is springs having different stiffness in compression and tension. The chain is subjected to an external harmonic excitation. The results confirm that a higher damping leads to lower deformations and, thus, to higher energy dissipation. For the tension-compression harmonic excitation, only tensile deformations remain while compressive deformations get damped over time.