On the derivatives of a subclass of isotropic tensor functions of a nonsymmetric tensor

This paper studies a subclass of isotropic tensor-valued functions of a nonsymmetric tensor, which satisfy the commutative condition, and their derivatives. This subclass of tensor functions includes tensor power series, exponential tensor function, etc., and is more general than those investigated before. In the case of three distinct eigenvalues, the derivatives of these tensor functions are constructed by solving a tensor equation, which is acquired by differentiating the commutative condition. By taking limits, the results are extended to the cases of repeated eigenvalues.     

A Formulation of Anisotropic Elastic Damage Using Compact Tensor Formalism

An anisotropic elastic-damage model for initially-isotropic materials is presented. The model is based on a pseudo-logarithmic second-order damage tensor rate. To derive the complete expression of the tangent stiffness entering the rate constitutive law, various tensor operations and derivatives of tensor functions must be developed. Such derivations have been performed in compact form. Some useful tensor derivatives and a table of tensor algebra operations are given in Appendix. This note should interest engineering researchers involved in the development of constitutive models through tensor formalism. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A novel internal dissipation inequality by isotropy and its implication for inelastic constitutive characterization

In the present work a novel inelastic deformation caused internal dissipation inequality by isotropy is revealed. This inequality has the most concise form among a variety of internal dissipation inequalities, including the one widely used in constitutive characterization of isotropic finite strain elastoplasticity and viscoelasticiy. Further, the evolution term describing the difference between the rate of deformation tensor and the “principal rate” of the elastic logarithmic strain tensor is set, according to the standard practice by isotropy, to equal a rank-two isotropic tensor function of the corresponding branch stress, with the tensor function having an eigenspace identical to the eigenspace of the branch stress tensor. Through that a general form of evolution equation for the elastic logarithmic strain is formulated and some interesting and important results are derived. Namely, by isotropy the evolution of the elastic logarithmic strain tensor is embodied separately by the evolutions of its eigenvalues and eigenprojections, with the evolution of the eigenprojections driven by the rate of deformation tensor and the evolution of the eigenvalues connected to specific material behavior. It can be proved that by isotropy the evolution term in the present dissipation inequality stands for the essential form of the evolution term in the extensively applied dissipation inequality.     

On the Derivative of Some Tensor-Valued Functions

An explicit expression of the derivative of the square root of a tensor is provided, by using the expressions of the derivatives of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a symmetric tensor. Starting from this result, the derivatives of the right and left stretch tensor U, V and of the rotation R with respect to the deformation gradient F, are calculated. Expressions for the material time derivatives of U, V and R are also given. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Basic Issues Concerning Finite Strain Measures and Isotropic Stress-Deformation Relations

It is indicated that the commonly-used Rivlin–Ericksen representation formula for isotropic tensor functions exhibits some properties that might be undesirable for its reasonable and effective applications. Towards clarification and improvement, a set of three mutually orthogonal tensor generators is introduced to achieve an alternative representation formula for isotropic symmetric tensor-valued functions of a symmetric tensor. This representation formula enables us to express the unknown representative coefficients in terms of simple, explicit tensorial inner products of the argument tensor and the value tensor without involving their eigenvalues. In particular, the tensorial interpolation expressions thus obtained assume a unified form for the three different cases of coalescence of the eigenvalues of the argument tensor. Moreover, each summand in the alternative representation formula is shown to inherit the continuity and differentiability properties of the represented isotropic tensor function. These results are used to study some basic issues concerning finite strain measures and stress-deformation relations of isotropic materials, such as continuity and differentiability properties of the representation, determination of the representative coefficients in terms of experimental data for stress and deformation tensors, and computations of finite strain measures. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Averaging Anisotropic Elastic Constant Data

A method of averaging the data on the anisotropic elastic constants of a material is presented. The anisotropic elastic constants are represented by the elasticity tensor which is expressed as a second rank tensor in a space of six dimensions. The method consists of averaging eigenbases of different measurements of the elasticity tensor, then averaging the eigenvalues referred to the average eigenbasis. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors are obtained by using a representation of the stress-strain relations due, in principle, to Kelvin [17, 18]. The formulas for the representation of the averaged elasticity tensor are simple and concise. The applications of these formulas are illustrated using previously reported data, and are contrasted with the traditional analysis of the same data by Hearmon [9]. An interesting result that emerges from this analysis is a method dealing with variable composition anisotropic elastic materials whose elastic constants depend upon the particular composition. In the case of porous isotropic materials, for example, it is customary to regress the Young's modulus against porosity. The results of this paper suggest a structure or paradigm for extending to anisotropic materials this empirical method of regressing elastic constant data against composition or porosity.     

A direct proof of uniqueness of square-root of a positive semi-definite tensor

Understanding of the basic properties of the positive semi-definite tensor is a prerequisite for its extensive applications in theoretical and practical fields, especially for its square-root. Uniqueness of the square-root of a positive semi-definite tensor is proven in this paper without resorting to the notion of eigenvalues, eigenvectors and the spectral decomposition of the second-order symmetric tensor.     

On the Eigenvalues of the Fourth-Order Constitutive Tensor and Loss of Strong Ellipticity in Elastoplasticity

The eigenvalues of the fourth-order constitutive tangent modulus and the corresponding acoustic tensors are analyzed. Explicit expressions of the eigenvalues are made for the nonsymmetric tangent modulus tensor, and in the case of the deviatoric associative rule for the symmetric part of the tangent modulus and its acoustic tensor. In this context, a rate independent infinitesimal elastoplastic model is considered. The expressions of the plastic hardening modulus are summarized for the different local stability criteria (loss of second order work positiveness, loss of ellipticity, and loss of strong ellipticity). The critical hardening modulus and orientation are discussed in detail in the case of loss of ellipticity and loss of strong ellipticity. This analysis is based on the geometric method and linear, isotropic elasticity and deviatoric associative flow rule. In particular, the critical orientation for the loss of strong ellipticity and the classical shear band localization are compared.     

THE LINEAR BI-SPATIAL TENSOR EQUATIONφijAiXBj= C

A linear bi-spatial tensor equation which contains many often encountered equations as particular cases is thoroughly studied. Explicit solutions are obtained. No conditions on eigenvalues of coefficient tensors are imposed.     

THE LINEAR BI-SPATIAL TENSOR EQUATIONφ_(ij)A~iXB~j= C

ＴＨＥＬＩＮＥＡＲＢＩ－ＳＰＡＴＩＡＬＴＥＮＳＯＲＥＱＵＡＴＩＯＮφ＿（ｉｊ）Ａ￣ｉＸＢ￣ｊ＝ＣＣｈｅｎＹｕｍｉｎｇ（陈玉明），ＸｉａｏＨｅｎｇ（肖衡），ＬｉＪｉａｎｂｏ（李建波）（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＡｐｐｌｉｅｄＭａｔｈｅｍａｔｉｃｓ，Ｈｕｎ...     

The symmetry approximation for nonsymmetric permeability tensors and its consequences for mass transport

It is well known that the permeability has a tensor character. In practical applications, this is accounted for by the introduction of three principal permeabilities — three scalars — and three mutually orthogonal principal axes. In this paper, it is investigated whether this is always the exact way of describing anisotropy and, if not, what the consequences of the principal axes approximation are for flow and transport. First, it is shown that spatial upscaling may result in nonsymmetric large-scale permeability tensors, for which principal axes do not exist. However, it is possible to define generalized principal axes: three principal axes for the flux and three for the pressure gradient, with only three principal permeabilities. Since nonsymmetric permeability tensors are undesirable in practical applications, an approximation method making the nonsymmetric permeability symmetric is introduced. The important conclusion is then that the exact large-scale flux and large-scale pressure gradient do not have the same directions as the approximate flux and approximate pressure gradient. A practical consequence is that the principal axes approximation results in a difference between flux and transport direction. When considering miscible displacement or transport of mass dissolved in groundwater, the velocity component normal to the flux direction may be considered as a contribution to the transverse macro dispersion.     

On Isotropic Invariants of the Elasticity Tensor

Isotropic invariants of the elasticity tensor always yield the same values no matter what coordinate system is concerned and therefore they characterize the linear elasticity of a solid material intrinsically. There exists a finite set of invariants of the elasticity tensor such that each invariant of the elasticity tensor can be expressed as a single-valued function of this set. Such a set, called a basis of invariants of the elasticity tensor, can be used to realize a parametrization of the manifold of orbits of elastic moduli, i.e. to distinguish different kinds of linear elastic materials. Seeking such a basis is an old problem in theory of invariants and seems to have been unsuccessful until now. In this paper, by means of the unique spectral decomposition of the elasticity tensor every invariant of the elasticity tensor is shown to be a joint invariant of the eigenprojections of the elasticity tensor, and then by utilizing some properties of the eigenprojections a basis for each case concerning the multiplicity of the eigenvalues of the elasticity tensor is presented in terms of joint invariants of the eigenprojections. In addition to the foregoing properties, the presented invariants may also be used to form invariant criteria for identification of elastic symmetry axes.     

The angular-acceleration tensor of rigid-body kinematics and its properties

Summary The angular-acceleration tensor of rigid-body kinematics is recalled, and its invariant properties are analyzed. An explicit form of its inverse is given, its eigenvalues being calculated in symbolic form. The special case in which the tensor under study becomes singular, is given due attention. Received 8 May 1998; accepted for publication 27 July 1998     

On several new methods to polar decomposition computation

In this paper, the polar decomposition of a deformation gradient tensor is analyzed in detail. The four new methods for polar decomposition computation are given: (1) the iterated method, (2) the principal invariant's method, (3) the principal rotation axis's method, (4) the coordinate transformation's method. The iterated method makes it possible to establish the nonlinear finite element method based on polar decomposition. Furthermore, the material time derivatives of the stretch tensor and the rotation tensor are obtained by explicit and simple expressions. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support rendered by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi of China in 1998.     

Derivatives and Rates of the Stretch and Rotation Tensors

General expressions for the derivatives and rates of the stretch and rotation tensors with respect to the deformation gradient are derived. They are both specialized to some of the formulas already available in the literature and used to derive some new ones, in three and two dimensions. Essential ingredients of the treatment are basic elements of differential calculus for tensor valued functions of tensors and recently derived results on the solution of the tensor equation A X + XA= H in the unknown X. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A constitutive model for orthotropic elasto-plasticity at large strains

Summary The paper presents a thermodynamically consistent constitutive model for elasto-plastic analysis of orthotropic materials at large strain. The elastic and plastic anisotropies are assumed to be persistent in the material but the anisotropy axes can undergo a rigid rotation due to large plastic deformations. The orthotropic yield function is formulated in terms of the generally nonsymmetric Mandel stress tensor such that its skew-symmetric part is additionally taken into account. Special attention is focused on the convexity of the yield surface resulting in the nine-dimensional stress space. Of particular interest are new convexity conditions which do not appear in the classical theory of anisotropic plasticity. They impose additional constraints on the material constants governing the plastic spin. The role of the plastic spin is further studied in simple shear accompanied by large elastic and large plastic deformations. If the plastic spin is neglected, the shear stress response is characterized by oscillations with an amplitude strictly dependent on the degree of the plastic anisotropy.accepted for publication 2 March 2004     

The Explicit Determination of the Logarithm of a Tensor and Its Derivatives

The logarithm of a tensor is often used in nonlinear constitutive relations of elastic materials. Here we show how the logarithm of an arbitrary tensor can be explicitly evaluated for any underlying space dimension n. We also present a method for the explicit evaluation of the derivatives of the logarithm of a tensor.      

Technical Stability of Nonstationary Automatic-Control Systems with Variable Structure

Sufficient conditions of technical stability in measure are established for nonstationary automatic-control systems with variable structure and logic control laws dependent on the mismatch error and its derivatives of finite order for all admissible initial perturbations from a predefined measurable set of initial perturbations. The associated systems of differential equations contain time-dependent coefficients. The logic control laws are described by a variable jump control function of the mismatch coordinate and its derivatives of finite order that is no higher than that of the initial system of equations. Using a signal and its derivatives for control increases the quality of discontinuous control. The relationship between the eigenvalues of the quadratic forms of the corresponding Liapunov functions and the criteria of technical stability is revealed. The general results are applied to a variable-structure system of the third order     

Spectral decomposition of the compliance fourth-rank tensor for orthotropic materials

Summary The compliance tensor related to orthotropic media is spectrally decomposed and its characteristic values are determined. Further, its idempotent tensors are estimated, giving rise to energy orthogonal states of stress and strain, thus decomposing the elastic potential in discrete elements. It is proven that the essential parameters, required for a complete characterisation of the elastic properties of an orthotropic medium, are the six eigenvalues of the compliance tensor, together with a set of three dimensionless parameters, the eigenangles θ, ϕ and ω. In addition, the intervals of variation of these eigenangles with respect to different values of the elastic constants are presented. Furthermore, bounds on Poisson's ratios are obtained by imposing the thermodynamical constraint on the eigenvalues to be strictly positive, as specified from the positive-definite character of the elastic potential. Finally, the conditions are investigated under which a family of orthotropic media behaves like a transversely isotropic or an isotropic one. Received 5 January 1999; accepted for publication 22 June 1999     

Dyadic method for tensor functions

In this paper, we discuss tensor functions by dyadic representation of tensor. Two different cases of scalar invariants and two different cases of tensor invariants are calculated. It is concluded that there are six independent scale invariants for a symmetrical tensor and an antisymmetrical tensor, and there are twelve invariants for two symmetrical tensors and an antisymmetrical tensor. And we present a new list of tensor invariants for the tensor-valued isotropic function. The project supported by the Special Funds for Major State Basic Research Project “Nonlinear Science” and the National Basic Research Project “The Several Key Problems of Fluid and Aerodynamics”