Journal profile · Mechanics
Wave Motion
ISSN 0165-2125 · eISSN 1878-433X · Elsevier · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1979
Wave Motion: CAS Zone 3 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.13; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,640; review 6–12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy (Elsevier website: 34%); 157 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Wave Motion is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ultrasonics and Acoustic Wave Propagation, Nonlinear Photonic Systems and Nonlinear Waves and Solitons, together about 26.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Browse through a wide range of high-quality academic journals offered by Elsevier, including open access options, to enrich your research journey.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Mechanics
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ultrasonics and Acoustic Wave PropagationEngineering10.1%
- Nonlinear Photonic SystemsPhysics and Astronomy8.2%
- Nonlinear Waves and SolitonsPhysics and Astronomy7.8%
- Acoustic Wave Phenomena ResearchEngineering7.5%
- Ocean Waves and Remote SensingEarth and Planetary Sciences5.8%
- Electromagnetic Scattering and AnalysisPhysics and Astronomy5.5%
- Numerical methods in engineeringEngineering5.3%
- Seismic Waves and AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Acoustics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Mechanics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Acoustics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Mechanics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Acoustics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Mechanics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.13LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.9LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52LetPub ·
- h-index
- 91OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,541OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.54OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 20.2%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 150LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,526 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 107 | 30 | 35 |
| 2025 | 157 | 44 | 331 |
| 2024 | 145 | 62 | 671 |
| 2023 | 94 | 28 | 724 |
| 2022 | 116 | 36 | 1,037 |
| 2021 | 106 | 34 | 1,154 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 34%LetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | EUR 2,950 / GBP 2,760 / JPY 2,360 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1979
- ISSN
- 0165-2125
- Electronic ISSN
- 1878-433X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Wave Motion
What CAS zone is Wave Motion in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Wave Motion is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Physics, Multidisciplinary / Acoustics / Mechanics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Wave Motion?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.13; CiteScore 4, h-index 91.
How long does peer review take at Wave Motion?
Authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy (Elsevier website: 34%)”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Wave Motion?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Wave Motion is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Wave Motion open access, and what is the APC?
Wave Motion is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,640.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .