Couple stress based strain gradient theory for elasticity

The deformation behavior of materials in the micron scale has been experimentally shown to be size dependent. In the absence of stretch and dilatation gradients, the size dependence can be explained using classical couple stress theory in which the full curvature tensor is used as deformation measures in addition to the conventional strain measures. In the couple stress theory formulation, only conventional equilibrium relations of forces and moments of forces are used. The couple's association with position is arbitrary. In this paper, an additional equilibrium relation is developed to govern the behavior of the couples. The relation constrained the couple stress tensor to be symmetric, and the symmetric curvature tensor became the only properly conjugated high order strain measures in the theory to have a real contribution to the total strain energy of the system. On the basis of this modification, a linear elastic model for isotropic materials is developed. The torsion of a cylindrical bar and the pure bending of a flat plate of infinite width are analyzed to illustrate the effect of the modification.     

Macro slip theory of plasticity for polycrystalline solids

A macro slip theory is presented in this paper. Four independent slip systems are proposed for polycrystalline solids. Each slip system consists of a slip plane which lies on a face of the octahedron in stress space and a slip direction which is coincident with shear stress acting on the same face of the octahedron. It is proved that for proportional loading, present results are identical with the classical flow theory of plasticity. For nonproportional loading, the macro slip theory shows good predicting ability. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The project supported by Chinese Academy of Science     

Finite deformation theory for soft ferromagnetic elastic solids

A general theory of finite deformation of soft ferromagnetic elastic solids is formulated following the linear theory developed earlier by Pao and Yeh. The constitutive equations, field equations, and the boundary conditions of this theory are applied to analyse the buckling of a plate under the action of a uniform magnetic field. A nontrivial equilibrium configuration for the deformed plate is shown to exist, and the critical value of the externally applied magnetic induction at which the plate buckles is determined. It is demonstrated that the non-linear deformation affects the critical magnetic induction considerably.     

Controllable states of stress for incompressible elastic solids

It is shown that the equilibrium states of Cauchy stress which can exist, in the absence of body force, in every incompressible, homogeneous, isotropic, elastic solid whose deviatoric stress range allows them, must have uniform deviatoric stress invariants. There is at least one such non-uniform stress state. The related problem for incompressible non-Newtonian fluids is also discussed.     

A point assembly method for stress analysis for two-dimensional solids

A novel point assembly method (PAM) is presented for stress analysis for two-dimensional solids. In the present method, the boundaries of the problem domain are represented by a set of discrete points, and the domain itself is represented by properly scattered points. The displacement in the influence triangular areas of a point is interpolated by the displacements at the point and pairs of surrounding points using shape functions. The shape functions used in this work are obtained in the same way as those of a triangular element in the conventional finite element method (FEM). A variational (weak) form of the equilibrium equation is used to produce a set of system equations. These equations are assembled for all the points in the domain, and solved for the displacement field. Stresses and strains at a point are then computed using the displacements obtained for the point and pairs of the surrounding points. A PAM program with an automatic point-searching algorithm has been developed in fortran. Patch tests and convergence studies have been carried out to verify the convergence of the present method and program. Examples are also presented to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the present method compared with analytical solutions as well as the conventional FEM solutions.     

The unified elastic-viscosic-plastic theory of solids

1ThePostulatesandillustrationsofUnifiedElastic-Viscosic-PlasticTheoryWhenthesolidsareundertyleexternalexcitations,theresponseswillexistintheinterior.Inthesolid,therearethreemainstates:elastic,plasticandviscosic.Itisimpossibletostudythesebehavioursbymolecularmethod,butthesebehaviourscanberesearchedfromthepointofviewoflargescale.Inthispaper,weconsidertheexcitationbyexternalworkonly,theresponsesarestrainenergyandtheheatwasted,asinFig.1.InFig.1(a),theworkratebyexternalforceisW,onepartofwhichis…     

A new constitutive theory for fiber-reinforced incompressible nonlinearly elastic solids

We consider an incompressible nonlinearly elastic material in which a matrix is reinforced by strong fibers, for example fibers of nylon or carbon aligned in one family of curves in a rubber matrix. Rather than adopting the constraint of fiber inextensibility as has been previously assumed in the literature, here we develop a theory of fiber-reinforced materials based on the less restrictive idea of limiting fiber extensibility. The motivation for such an approach is provided by recent research on limiting chain extensibility models for rubber. Thus the basic idea of the present paper is simple: we adapt the limiting chain extensibility concept to limiting fiber extensibility so that the usual inextensibility constraint traditionally used is replaced by a unilateral constraint. We use a strain-energy density composed with two terms, the first being associated with the isotropic matrix or base material and the second reflecting the transversely isotropic character of the material due to the uniaxial reinforcement introduced by the fibers. We consider a base neo-Hookean model plus a special term that takes into account the limiting extensibility in the fiber direction. Thus our model introduces an additional parameter, namely that associated with limiting extensibility in the fiber direction, over previously investigated models. The aim of this paper is to investigate the mathematical and mechanical feasibility of this new model and to examine the role played by the extensibility parameter. We examine the response of the proposed models in some basic homogeneous deformations and compare this response to those of standard models for fiber reinforced rubber materials. The role of the strain-stiffening of the fibers in the new models is examined. The enhanced stability of the new models is then illustrated by investigation of cavitation instabilities. One of the motivations for the work is to apply the model to the biomechanics of soft tissues and the potential merits of the proposed models for this purpose are briefly discussed.     

A variational theorem for Mises' solids based on stress potentials

Summary A theorem is given which provides variational formulation for compatibility and plasticity conditions in rigid-perfectly plastic solids, through the most general stress functions. The relation existing between this theorem and a known variational principle of limit analysis is shown. The type of boundary value problems governed by the proposed theorem is illustrated by means of a simple example at the end.

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Sommario Viene presentato un teorema che fornisce una formulazione variazionale per le condizioni di compatibilità e di plasticità nei corpi rigido-perfettamente plastici attraverso le più generali funzioni di sforzo. Viene anche mostrata la relazione esistente tra tale teorema ed un noto principio variazionale dell'analisi limite. Un semplice esempio di applicazione ad un caso assialsimmetrico piano illustra il tipo di problemi al contorno governati dal teorema qui presentato.

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The results presented in this paper are part of a research supported by the (Italian) National Research Council (C.N.R.).     

Assumed stress quasi-conforming triangular element for couple stress theory

In this paper, a 3-node triangular element for couple stress theory is proposed based on the assumed stress quasi-conforming method. The formulation starts from polynomial approximation of stresses. Then the stress-function matrix is treated as the weighted function to weaken the strain-displacement equations. Finally, the string-net functions are introduced to calculate strain integration and the stress smooth technique is adopted to improve the stress accuracy. Numerical results show that the proposed new model can pass the C~(0-1) patch test with excellent precision, does not exhibit extra zero energy modes and can capture the scale effects of microstructure.     

A unified theory of thermoviscoplasticity of crystalline solids

A unified theory of thermoviscoplasticity of crystalline solids is presented. In particular it is shown that a thermodynamics for ‘viscoplastic’ materials can be accommodated within the framework of modern mechanics of materials with memory. The basic physical concepts are derived from the consideration of dislocation behaviour of crystalline solids. Relationships of the present approach to several of the existing theories of plasticity are examined.     

An eigen theory of waves in piezoelectric solids

Based on the standard spaces of the physical presentation, both the quasi-static mechanical approximation and the quasi-static electromagnetic approximation of piezoelectric solids are studied here. The complete set of uncoupled elastic wave and electromagnetic wave equations are deduced. The results show that the number and propagation speed of elastic waves and electromagnetic waves in anisotropic piezoelectric solids are determined by both the subspaces of electromagnetically anisotropic media and ones of mechanically anisotropic media. Based on these laws, we discuss the propagation behaviour of elastic waves and electromagnetic waves in the piezoelectric material of class 6 mm.     

On the theory of mixtures of elastic solids

In this paper we derive a theory for binary mixtures of elastic solids in which the independent constitutive variables are the displacement gradients, displacement fields, volume fractions and volume fraction gradients. The theory is linearized and a uniqueness theorem with no definiteness assumption on the elasticities and no restriction on the initial stresses is presented.     

Uniqueness theorems in the theory of thermoelasticity for solids with double porosity

In this paper the coupled linear theory of thermoelasticity for solids with double porosity is considered. The governing system of field equations of this theory is based on motion equations, conservation of fluid mass, constitutive equations, extended Darcy’s law for materials with double porosity and Fourier’s law for heat conduction. A wide class of the basic internal and external boundary value problems (BVPs) of steady vibrations is formulated and uniqueness theorems for regular (classical) solutions of these BVPs are proved.     

A dynamic theory for magnetizable elastic solids with thermal and electrical conduction

A general dynamical theory of magnetizable, electrically and thermally conducting media is developed for soft ferromagnetic or paramagnetic materials in external electromagnetic fields. The general equations are linearized by assuming infinitesimal strains, linear constitutive equations and that all field variables may be divided into two parts: a "rigid body state" and a "perturbation state". The former is the same as the one in rigid body electrodynamics, and the latter which accounts for electromagnetic interaction with the deformable continuum is coupled with stress and strain through linearized field equations. The theory is developed for general anisotropy but specialized for materials with uniaxial, or higher, symmetry.     

Two-dimensional stress wave analysis in incompressible elastic solids

Two-dimensional stress waves in a general incompressible elastic solid are investigated. First, basic equations for simple waves and shock waves are presented for a general strain energy function. Then the characteristic wave speeds and the associated characteristic vectors are deduced. It is shown that there usually exist two simple waves and two shock waves. Finally, two examples are given for the case of plane strain deformation and antiplane strain deformation, respectively. It is proved that, in the case of plane strain deformation the oblique reflection problem of a plane shock is not solvable in general.