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.     

Bounds on the Effective Anisotropic Elastic Constants

Hill [12] showed that it was possible to construct bounds on the effective isotropic elastic coefficients of a material with triclinic or greater symmetry. Hill noted that the triclinic symmetry coefficients appearing in the bounds could be specialized to those of a greater symmetry, yielding the effective isotropic elastic coefficients for a material with any elastic symmetry. It is shown here that it is possible to construct bounds on the effective elastic constants of a material with any anisotropic elastic symmetry in terms of triclinic symmetry elastic coefficients. Similarly, it is then possible to specialize the triclinic symmetry coefficients appearing in the bounds to those of a greater symmetry. Specific bounds are given for the effective elastic coefficients of cubic, hexagonal, tetragonal and trigonal symmetries in terms of the elastic coefficients of triclinic symmetry. These results are obtained by combining the approach of Hill [12] with a representation of the stress-strain relations due, in principle, to Kelvin [25,26] but recast in the structure of contemporary linear algebra. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial Estimates for the Constrained Anisotropic Elastic Cylinder

This paper establishes spatial estimates in a prismatic (semi-infinite) cylinder occupied by an anisotropic homogeneous linear elastic material, whose elasticity tensor is strongly elliptic. The cylinder is maintained in equilibrium under zero body force, zero displacement on the lateral boundary and pointwise specified displacement over the base. The other plane end is subject to zero displacement (when the cylinder is finite, say). The limiting case of a semi-infinite cylinder is also considered and zero displacement on the remote end (at large distance) is not assumed in this case. A first approach is developed by considering two mean-square cross-sectional measures of the displacement vector whose spatial evolution with respect to the axial variable is studied by means of a technique based on a second-order differential inequality. Conditions on the elastic constants are derived that show the cross-sectional measures exhibit alternative behaviour and in particular for the semi-infinite cylinder that there is either at least exponential growth or at most exponential decay. A second approach considers cross-sectional integrals involving the displacement and its gradient and furnishes information upon the spatial evolution, without restricting the range of strongly elliptic elastic constants. Such models are principally based upon a first-order differential inequality as well as on one of second order. The general results are explicitly presented for transversely isotropic materials and graphically illustrated for a cortical bone.     

Partial Uniqueness and Obstruction to Uniqueness in Inverse Problems for Anisotropic Elastic Media

We consider the inverse problem of identifying the density and elastic moduli for three-dimensional anisotropic elastic bodies, given displacement and traction measurements made at their surface. These surface measurements are modelled by the dynamic Dirichlet-to-Neumann map on a finite time interval. For linear or nonlinear anisotropic hyperelastic bodies we show that the displacement-to-traction surface measurements do not change when the density and elasticity tensor in the interior are transformed tensorially by a change of coordinates fixing the surface of the body to first order. Our main tool, a new approach in inverse problems for elastic media, is the representation of the equations of motion in a covariant form (following Marsden and Hughes, 1983) that preserves the underlying physics.In the case of classical linear elastodynamics we then investigate how the type of anisotropy changes under coordinate transformations. That is, we analyze the orbits of general linear, anisotropic elasticity tensors under the action by pull-back of diffeomorphisms that fix the surface of the elastic body to first order, and derive a pointwise characterization of parts of the orbits under this action. For example, we show that the orbit of isotropic elastic media, at any point in the body, consists of some transversely isotropic and some orthotropic elastic media. We then derive the first uniqueness result in the inverse problem for anisotropic media using surface displacement-traction data: uniqueness of three elastic moduli for tensors in the orbit of isotropic elasticity tensors. ^†Partially supported by an MSRI Postdoctoral Fellowship. Research at MSRI is supported in part by NSF grant DMS-9850361. This work was conducted while the first author was a Gibbs Instructor at Yale University. ^‡Partially supported by an MSRI Postdoctoral Fellowship, and by NSF grant DMS-9801664 (9996350).     

An integral representation of the surface-impedance tensor for incompressible elastic materials

A fundamental result in anisotropic elasticity and surface-wave theory is the integral representation for the surface-impedance tensor first derived by Barnett and Lothe in 1973. However, this representation is only valid for compressible materials but not valid for incompressible materials. In this paper the corresponding integral representation for the surface-impedance tensor valid for incompressible materials is derived and is used to establish the uniqueness of surface-wave speed and to obtain an expression for the tensor Green's function for the infinite space. Mathematics subject classifications (2000) 74B05, 74B15, 74B20, 74J15     

The continuum elastic and atomistic viewpoints on the formation volume and strain energy of a point defect

We discuss the roles of continuum linear elasticity and atomistic calculations in determining the formation volume and the strain energy of formation of a point defect in a crystal. Our considerations bear special relevance to defect formation under stress. The elasticity treatment is based on the Green's function solution for a center of contraction or expansion in an anisotropic solid. It makes possible the precise definition of a formation volume tensor and leads to an extension of Eshelby's [Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 241 (1226), 376] result for the work done by an external stress during the transformation of a continuum inclusion. Parameters necessary for a complete continuum calculation of elastic fields around a point defect are obtained by comparing with an atomistic solution in the far field. However, an elasticity result makes it possible to test the validity of the formation volume that is obtained via atomistic calculations under various boundary conditions. It also yields the correction term for formation volume calculated under these boundary conditions. Using two types of boundary conditions commonly employed in atomistic calculations, a comparison is also made of the strain energies of formation predicted by continuum elasticity and atomistic calculations. The limitations of the continuum linear elastic treatment are revealed by comparing with atomistic calculations of the formation volume and strain energies of small crystals enclosing point defects.     

Determnation of elasticity constants for microheterogeneous media

The foundations of the theory of stochastically heterogeneous solids were laid a long time ago by Voigt [1J, who developed a method for determining the macroscopic parameters of polycrystalline materials by averaging the appropriate crystallite parameters with respect to orientations. Lifshits and Rozentzveig [2] showed that it was necessary to consider the correlation properties of the field in computations of macroscopic parameters. They calculated the first corrections for the averaged elastic constants of polycrystallites for the case of cubic and hexagonal crystallites. Assuming a low degree of heterogeneity, these authors used an approximation which corresponds to the Born approximation in the theory of scattering [3]. This method and its modifications were subsequently used by several authors for the computation of macroscopic parameters of polycrystallites [4– 6] and of other microheterogeneous materials [8].Moreover, the assumption of a low degree of heterogeneity of the properties is very restrictive. It precludes use of the method in the case of macroscopically isotropic polycrystallites formed from essentially anisotropic crystallite stochastically glass reinforced plastics, and similar microheterogeneous materials. This rises the problem of developing procedures that could be applied in cases of a high degree of heterogeneity. This problem presents serious analytical difficulties, however. It is sufficient to point out that even computation of the second approximation (i.e., the one following the Born approximation) has not yet been completed. Analogous problems in the classical and quantum theories of scattering are also, as a rule, considered only in the Born approximation. More complicated methods (e.g., Feyman's method) make possible only partial summation of infinite sequences in which the result is obtained. A method analogous to that of a selfconsistent field in quantum mechanics [9,10] is promising; however, this method is approximate and the magnitude of its error has not yet been estimated.The possibility of accurate determination of mascroscopic parameters for certain classes of microheterogeneous media was demostrated in [11], in which a detailed analysis was presented of parameters forming a second order tensor and characterizing the distribution in the medium of a certain scalar value obeying an equation similar to the steady-state heat-conduction equation. Accurate formulas for macroscopic coefficients of thermal conductivity (diffusion) were derived for the case of a strongly anisotropic medium and for that of a medium with a high degree of transverse isotropy. We made a comparison with various approximate methods and evaluated their degree of error. This article describes an accurate method of computing macroscopic elastic constants for polycrystalline media with a high degree of anisotropy; for the case of polycrystals with a cubic structure [12] the error margin and range of application of approximate methods are estimated.     

Surface Impedance Tensors of Textured Polycrystals

A formula for the surface impedance tensors of orthorhombic aggregates of cubic crystallites is given explicitly in terms of the material constants and the texture coefficients. The surface impedance tensor is a Hermitian second-order tensor which, for a homogeneous elastic half-space, maps the displacements given at the surface to the tractions needed to sustain them. This tensor plays a fundamental role in Stroh's formalism for anisotropic elasticity. In this paper we account for the effects of crystallographic texture only up to terms linear in the texture coefficients and give an explicit formula for the terms in the surface impedance tensor up to those linear in the texture coefficients. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Bootstrap Elasticity: From Linear to Nonlinear Constitutive Representations

The normal modes of the 6×6 symmetric matrix of elastic moduli for linear anisotropic elasticity, also called Kelvin modes, provide orthogonal basis sets for the six dimensional space of symmetric, second order tensors in three dimensional Euclidean space. In turn the partitioning of the six space, induced by these bases and the multiplicity of each eigenvalue, provides the means for constructing six term minimal representations of nonlinear constitutive equations for materials of any symmetry from triclinic to cubic. The constructions also for the first time show clear connections to the linear elastic moduli, which through the eigenvalues set the scale for most, but not all, of the tensor generators. This approach also provides an alternate way to construct the well-known three term Rivlin-Ericksen representation for nonlinear isotropic materials.     

Initial stresses in elastic solids: Constitutive laws and acoustoelasticity

On the basis of the nonlinear theory of elasticity, the general constitutive equation for an isotropic hyperelastic solid in the presence of initial stress is derived. This derivation involves invariants that couple the deformation with the initial stress and in general, for a compressible material, it requires 10 invariants, reducing to 9 for an incompressible material. Expressions for the Cauchy and nominal stress tensors in a finitely deformed configuration are given along with the elasticity tensor and its specialization to the initially stressed undeformed configuration. The equations governing infinitesimal motions superimposed on a finite deformation are then used to study the combined effects of initial stress and finite deformation on the propagation of homogeneous plane waves in a homogeneously deformed and initially stressed solid of infinite extent. This general framework allows for various different specializations, which make contact with earlier works. In particular, connections with results derived within Biot's classical theory are highlighted. The general results are also specialized to the case of a small initial stress and a small pre-deformation, i.e. to the evaluation of the acoustoelastic effect. Here the formulas derived for the wave speeds cover the case of a second-order elastic solid without initial stress and subject to a uniaxial tension [Hughes and Kelly, Phys. Rev. 92 (1953) 1145] and are consistent with results for an undeformed solid subject to a residual stress [Man and Lu, J. Elasticity 17 (1987) 159]. These formulas provide a basis for acoustic evaluation of the second- and third-order elasticity constants and of the residual stresses. The results are further illustrated in respect of a prototype model of nonlinear elasticity with initial stress, allowing for both finite deformation and nonlinear dependence on the initial stress.     

THEORETICAL MODEL OF EFFECTIVE STRESS COEFFICIENT FOR ROCK/SOIL-LIKE POROUS MATERIALS

Physical mechanisms and influencing factors on the effective stress coefficient for rock/soil-like porous materials are investigated, based on which equivalent connectivity index is proposed. The equivalent connectivity index, relying on the meso-scale structure of porous material and the property of liquid, denotes the connectivity of pores in Representative Element Area （REA）. If the conductivity of the porous material is anisotropic, the equivalent connectivity index is a second order tensor. Based on the basic theories of continuous mechanics and tensor analysis, relationship between area porosity and volumetric porosity of porous materials is deduced. Then a generalized expression, describing the relation between effective stress coefficient tensor and equivalent connectivity tensor of pores, is proposed, and the expression can be applied to isotropic media and also to anisotropic materials. Furthermore, evolution of porosity and equivalent connectivity index of the pore are studied in the strain space, and the method to determine the corresponding functions in expressions above is proposed using genetic algorithm and genetic programming. Two applications show that the results obtained by the method in this paper perfectly agree with the test data. This paper provides an important theoretical support to the coupled hydro-mechanical research.     

The evolution of Hooke's law due to texture development in FCC polycrystals

Initially isotropic aggregates of crystalline grains show a texture-induced anisotropy of both their inelastic and elastic behavior when submitted to large inelastic deformations. The latter, however, is normally neglected, although experiments as well as numerical simulations clearly show a strong alteration of the elastic properties for certain materials. The main purpose of the work is to formulate a phenomenological model for the evolution of the elastic properties of cubic crystal aggregates. The effective elastic properties are determined by orientation averages of the local elasticity tensors. Arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic averages are compared. It can be shown that for cubic crystal aggregates all of these averages depend on the same irreducible fourth-order tensor, which represents the purely anisotropic portion of the effective elasticity tensor. Coupled equations for the flow rule and the evolution of the anisotropic part of the elasticity tensor are formulated. The flow rule is based on an anisotropic norm of the stress deviator defined by means of the elastic anisotropy. In the evolution equation for the anisotropic part of the elasticity tensor the direction of the rate of change depends only on the inelastic rate of deformation. The evolution equation is derived according to the theory of isotropic tensor functions. The transition from an elastically isotropic initial state to a (path-dependent) final anisotropic state is discussed for polycrystalline copper. The predictions of the model are compared with micro–macro simulations based on the Taylor–Lin model and experimental data.     

New Explicit Expression of Barnett-Lothe Tensors for Anisotropic Linear Elastic Materials

The three Barnett-Lothe tensors H, L, S appear often in the Stroth formalism of two-dimensional deformations of anisotropic elastic materials [1–3]. They also appear in certain three-dimensional problems [4, 5]. The algebraic representation of H, L, S requires computation of the eigenvalues p^v(v=1,2,3) and the normalized eigenvectors (a, b). The integral representation of H, L, S circumvents the need for computing p ^v(v=1,2,3) and (a, b), but it is not simple to integrate the integrals except for special materials. Ting and Lee [6] have recently obtained an explicit expression of H for general anisotropic materials. We present here the remaining tensors L, S using the algebraic representation. They key to our success is the obtaining of the normalization factor for (a, b) in a simple form. The derivation of L and S then makes use of (a, b) but the final result does not require computation of (a, b), which makes the result attractive to numerical computation. Even though the tensor H given in [6] is in terms of the elastic stiffnesses C^μ v while the tensors L, S presented here are in terms of the reduced elastic compliances s′ _μv , the structure of L, S is similar to that of H. Following the derivation of H, we also present alternate expressions of L, S that remain valid for the degenerate cases p ₁ p ₂ and p₁=p₂ = p ₃. One may want to compute H, L, S using either C _μv or s′ _μv v, but not both. We show how an expression in C^μ v can be converted to an expression in s′ _μv v, and vice versa. As an application of the conversion, we present explicit expressions of the extic equation for p in C^μ v and s′ _μv v. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于正则结构的各向异性损伤演化律

在Rice的正则结构框架下，推导出基于共轭力的各向异性损伤演化律。其中损伤变量采用二阶裂隙张量，它是固体内微裂纹的一个宏观测度。推导过程不涉及自由能的具体形式，主要结果包括损伤势函数及演化方程的解析表达式。在唯象的损伤力学模型里，损伤演化方程经常以唯象方程的形式出现。研究了唯象方程成立的条件及损伤特征张量的解析表达式。引入了广义裂隙张量及脆性指数的概念，并介绍了它们的作用和意义。     

Surface Impedance Tensor and Green’s Function for Weakly Anisotropic Elastic Materials

Recently Fu and Mielke uncovered a new identity that the surface impedance tensor of any anisotropic elastic material has to satisfy. By solving algebraically a matrix equation that follows from the new identity, we derive an explicit expression for the surface impedance tensor, which is correct up to terms linear in the components of the anisotropic part of the elasticity tensor of the material in question. From the well-known relationship between the surface impedance tensor and the Green’s function for infinite space, we obtain an explicit expression for the Green’s function, which is correct up to terms linear in the components of the anisotropic part of the elasticity tensor.      

The completeness and a new derivation of the Stroh formalism of anisotropic linear elasticity

In this paper we present a new, simpler and unified derivation of the Stroh formalism of anisotropic linear elasticity, for both nondegenerate and degenerate cases. It is based on the potential representation and Jordan canonical representation theorems. The completeness of the Stroh formalism is proved in the derivation process itself. This new approach is also extended to piezoelastic problems. Besides, we show that the eigenvalues of the fundamental elastic matrix in planar anisotropic elasticity are always distinct, except for the case of isotropy. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19525207 and 19891180).     

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.     

Dependency of Tortuosity and Permeability of Porous Media on Directional Distribution of Pore Voids

Single-phase fluid flow in porous media is usually direction dependent owing to the tortuosity associated with the internal structures of materials that exhibit inherent anisotropy. This article presents an approach to determine the tortuosity and permeability of porous materials using a structural measure quantifying the anisotropic distribution of pore voids. The approach uses a volume averaging method through which the macroscopic tortuosity tensor is related to both the average porosity and the directional distribution of pore spaces. The permeability tensor is derived from the macroscopic momentum balance equation of fluid in a porous medium and expressed as a function of the tortuosity tensor and the internal structure of the material. The analytical results generally agree with experimental data in the literature.     

A Recasting of Anisotropic Poroelasticity in Matrices of Tensor Components

The equations associated with the theory of anisotropic poroelastic materials undergoing small deformations are recast in a matrix notation where the matrices are composed of proper tensor components. Using this notation the compatibility conditions on the components of the strain tensor are expressed in terms of the stress tensor, the pore pressure and the anisotropic elastic coefficients of the medium.     

The formulation of constitutive equations for fibre-reinforced composites in plane problems: Part II

Summary From the continuum mechanics points of view, most of commercial fibre-reinforced composites (FRCs) can be considered to be anisotropic materials with one of the five material symmetries: transverse isotropy, orthotropy, tetratropy, hexatropy and octotropy, as illustrated in the preceding paper (Part I) [1]. No properly general formulation of constitutive equations for tetratropic, hexatropic and octoctropic types of FRC has been found in the literature. In this paper, the restriction to the admissible deformation of a FRC imposed by the failure strains of the fibres is investigated. The complete and irreducible two-dimensional tensor function representations regarding tetratropy, hexatropy and octotropy derived in Part I are applied to formulate constitutive equations for FRCs in plane problems of elasticity, yielding and failure in the present work, and of heat conduction, continuum damage and asymmetric elasticity in a continued work (Part III, forthcoming).The supports from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany and the Research Foundation of Tsinghua University, P. R. China are acknowledged by the first author.