Abstract
In this paper, we present a study on the elastic waves in viscoelastic solids by using the generalized Maxwell model combining with the finite element method. The relations between large-scale wave propagation parameters (dispersion and attenuation) and the small-scale model parameters (relaxation time and relaxation strength) in the generalized Maxwell model are deduced. According to the model parameters recovered from the curves of dispersion and attenuation of the elastic waves, we have simulated the transient elastic waveform excited by pulsed laser. The results show that it is an efficient method to simulate the transient ultrasound propagating in viscoelastic solids by using finite element method based on the general Maxwell model.