Propagation of Plane Thermoelastic Waves in a Half-Space with Variable Thermal Conductivity and Micro-Temperatures

While previous studies have examined individual aspects of generalized thermoelasticity, the coupled effects of dual-phase-lag (DPL) heat conduction, micro-temperature, and temperature-dependent thermal conductivity remain unexplored. This work presents the first unified model incorporating all three phenomena to analyze plane wave propagation in a thermoelastic half-space under thermal shock. An analytical solution is developed using normal mode analysis. Numerical simulations for magnesium crystal reveal that: (1) the variable thermal conductivity parameter K dominates wave attenuation, with increasing |K| causing significantly faster amplitude decay; (2) the wave number a amplifies displacement and micro-temperature components while attenuating stresses. These findings offer new insights into energy partitioning and provide design criteria for thermal management where existing models are inadequate.