Optimal Orthotropy for Minimum Elastic Energy by the Polar Method

The polar method is a minimal invariant representation in plane elasticity. A plane orthotropic elastic behaviour is expressed by five polar invariants related to the elastic symmetries. In this paper, considering the orthotropy orientation and the polar invariants as optimisation parameters, we discuss the problem of minimising the elastic energy for a given state of stress. The minimisation with respect to the orientation is solved in order to find the associated optimal elastic energy for given polar invariants. Then, this quantity is minimised with respect to the polar invariants which characterise the magnitude of the anisotropic components of the elastic stiffness tensor. Optimal uncoupled composite laminates corresponding to this optimum are presented for membrane and bending loadings.     

On the asymptotic behavior of a phase-field model for elastic phase transitions

We study the asymptotic behavior of a one-dimensional, dynamical model of solid-solid elastic transitions in which the phase is determined by an order parameter. The system is composed of two coupled evolution equations, the mechanical equation of elasticity which is hyperbolic and a parabolic equation in the order parameter. Due to the strong coupling and the lack of smoothing in the hyperbolic equation, the asymptotic behavior of solutions is difficult to determine using standard methods of gradient-like systems. However, we show that under suitable assumptions all solutions approach the equilibrium set weakly, while the phase field stabilizes strongly.     

Nonlinear equations of elastic deformation of plates

A method for constructing nonlinear equations of elastic deformation of plates with boundary conditions for stresses and displacements at the face surfaces in an arbitrary coordinate system is proposed. The initial three–dimensional problem of the nonlinear theory of elasticity is reduced to a one–parameter sequence of two–dimensional problems by approximating the unknown functions by truncated series in Legendre polynomials. The same unknowns are approximated by different truncated series. In each approximation, a linearized system of equations whose differential order does not depend on the boundary conditions at the face surfaces which can be formulated in terms of stresses or displacements is obtained.     

Size-dependent thermoelasticity of a finite bi-layered nanoscale plate based on nonlocal dual-phase-lag heat conduction and Eringen's nonlocal elasticity

The size effects on heat conduction and elastic deformation are becoming significant along with the miniaturization of the device and wide application of ultrafast lasers.In this work,to better describe the transient responses of nanostructures,a size-dependent thermoelastic model is established based on nonlocal dual-phase-lag(N-DPL)heat conduction and Eringen's nonlocal elasticity,which is applied to the one-dimensional analysis of a finite bi-layered nanoscale plate under a sudden thermal shock.In the numerical part,a semi-analytical solution is obtained by using the Laplace transform method,upon which the effects of size-dependent characteristic lengths and material properties of each layer on the transient responses are discussed systematically.The results show that the introduction of the elastic nonlocal parameter of Medium 1 reduces the displacement and compressive stress,while the thermal nonlocal parameter of Medium 1 increases the deformation and compressive stress.These findings may be beneficial to the design of nano-sized and multi-layered devices.     

Structural modeling of beams on elastic foundations with elasticity couplings

A new simplified structural model and its governing equations for beams on elastic foundations with elastic coupling are proposed. This modeling system is simple but appropriate for the initial structural design of large-scale submerged floating-beam structures moored by tension legs spaced at uniform interval along the beam. The model is actually for beam on discrete elastic supports rather than on continuous elastic foundations. Therefore, the governing equations are based on finite difference calculus and solutions for beams on discrete elastic supports with elasticity coupling are also proposed. To clarify the applicability limit of the proposed model, the equivalence between a beam on discrete elastic supports and that on continuous elastic foundation is investigated by comparisons of characteristic solutions.     

Laminations in Linearized Elasticity: The Isotropic Non-very Strongly Elliptic Case

The explicit computation of the effective elasticity tensor of the material produced by laminating two homogeneous elastic media is used to show that, in 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional linear elasticity, for any isotropic material a whose elasticity tensor is strongly elliptic, but not semipositive definite, we can select very strongly elliptic materials, so that through laminations between these with material a, we can create a nonstrongly elliptic media, whose existence contradicts properties concerning the propagation of elastic waves. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

New solution of the plane problem for an equilibrium crack

We consider the classical plane problem of elasticity about a crack in an isotropic elastic unbounded plane resulting in a singular solution for the stresses near the crack edge. Relations of generalized elasticity with a small parameter characterizing the medium microstructure are derived, and the higher order of these relations permits eliminating the singularity of the classical solution. An experimental method for determining the medium parameter is proposed, and the corresponding experimental results are given.     

On out-of-plane buckling of anisotropic elastic plate subjected to a simple shear

Out-of-plane buckling of anisotropic elastic plate subjected to a simple shear is investigated. From exact 3-D equilibrium conditions of anisotropic elastic body with a plane of elastic symmetry at critical configuration, the eqution for buckling direction (buckling wave direction) parameter is derived and the shape functions of possible buckling modes are obtained. The traction free boundary conditions which must hold on the upper and lower surfaces of plate lead to a linear eigenvalue problem whose nontrivial solutions are just the possible buckling modes for the plate. The buckling conditions for both flexural and barreling modes are presented. As a particular example of buckling of anisotropic elastic plate, the buckling of an orthotropic elastic plate, which is subjected to simple shear along a direction making an arbitrary angle of θ with respect to an elastic principal axis of materials, is analyzed. The buckling direction varies with θ and the critical amount of shear. The numerical results show that only the flexural mode can indeed exist. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 19772032).     

Anisotropic damage law of evolution

A formulation for anisotropic damage is established in the framework of the principle of strain equivalence. The damage variable is still related to the surface density of microcracks and microvoids and, as its evolution is governed by the plastic strain, it is represented by a second order tensor and is orthotropic. The coupling of damage with elasticity is written through a tensor on the deviatoric part of the energy and through a scalar taken as its trace on the hydrostatic part. The kinetic law of damage evolution is an extension of the isotropic case. Here, the principal components of the damage rate tensor are proportional to the absolute value of principal components of the plastic strain rate tensor and are a nonlinear function of the effective elastic strain energy. The proposed damage evolution law does not introduce any other material parameter. Several series of experiments on metals give a good validation of this theory. The coupling of damage with plasticity and the quasi-unilateral conditions of partial closure of microcracks naturally derive from the concept of effective stress. Finally, a study of strain localization makes it possible to determine the critical value of the damage at mesocrack initiation.     

Co-simulation coupling spectral/finite elements for 3D soil/structure interaction problems

The coupling between an implicit finite elements (FE) code and an explicit spectral elements (SE) code has been explored for solving the elastic wave propagation in the case of soil/structure interaction problem. The coupling approach is based on domain decomposition methods in transient dynamics. The spatial coupling at the interface is managed by a standard coupling mortar approach, whereas the time integration is dealt with an hybrid asynchronous time integrator. An external coupling software, handling the interface problem, has been set up in order to couple the FE software Code_Aster with the SE software EFISPEC3D.     

Symmetrization of the tensor operator of the compatibility equations in stresses in the anisotropic theory of elasticity

The general form of the term whose addition to the left-hand side of the compatibility equation in stresses in anisotropic elasticity symmetrizes the rank four differential tensor operator of these equations is obtained. In the case of an arbitrary type of anisotropy, this term contains two arbitrary parameters of dimension of elastic compliances. The symmetrized compatibility equations themselves contain only one of these parameters, and the combination of the terms with this parameter can be separated from the terms containing the tensor of elastic compliances.     

A Unified Two-Phase Potential Method for Elastic Bi-material: Planar Interfaces

This paper gives a unified approach to analyze two-dimensional elastic deformations of a composite body consisting of two dissimilar anisotropic or isotropic materials perfectly bonded along a planar interface. The Eshelby et al. formalism of anisotropic elasticity is linked with that of Kolosov-Muskhelishvili for isotropic elasticity by means of two complex matrix functions describing completely the arising elastic fields. These functions, whose elements are holomorphic functions, are defined as the two-phase potentials of the bimaterial. The present work is concerned with bi-materials whose constituent materials occupy the whole space and are connected by a planar interface. The elastic fields arising in such a bimaterial are given by universal relationships in terms of the two-phase potentials. Then, the general results obtained are implemented to study two interesting bimaterial problems: the problem of a uniformly stressed bimaterial with a perfect interfacial bonding, and the interface crack problem of a bimaterial with a general loading. For both problems, all combinations of the elastic properties of the constituent materials are considered. For the first problem, the constraints, which must be imposed between the components of the applied uniform stress fields, are established, so that they are admissible as elastic fields of the bimaterial. For the interface crack problem, the solution is obtained for a general loading applied in the body. Detailed results are given for the case of a remote uniform stress field applied to the bimaterial constituents.     

Finite multiplicative plasticity for small elastic strains with linear balance equations and grain boundary relaxation

This paper is concerned with the formulation of a phenomenological model of finite elasto-plasticity valid for small elastic strains for initially isotropic polycrystalline material. As a basic we assume the multiplicative split of the deformation gradient into elastic and plastic part. A key feature of the model is the introduction of an independent field of 'elastic' rotations which eliminate the remaining geometrical nonlinearities coming from finite elasticity in the presence of small elastic strains. In contrast to micro-polar theories an evolution equation for is presented which relates to making use of a new device found by the author to perform the polar decomposition asymptotically. The model is shown to be invariant under both change of frame and rotation of the so called intermediate configuration. The corresponding equilibrium equations at frozen plastic and viscoelastic configuration constitute then a linear, elliptic system with nonconstant coefficients which makes this model amenable to a rigorous mathematical analysis. The introduced hysteresis effects within the elastic region are related to viscous elastic rotations of the grains of the polycrystal due to internal friction at the grain boundaries and constitute as such a rate dependent transient texture effect. The inclusion of work hardening will be addressed in future work. Received March 07, 2002 / Published online February 17, 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Communicated by Kolumban Hutter, Darmstadt     

Elastic Green’s Function in Anisotropic Bimaterials Considering Interfacial Elasticity

The two-dimensional elastic Green’s function is calculated for a general anisotropic elastic bimaterial containing a line dislocation and a concentrated force while accounting for the interfacial structure by means of a generalized interfacial elasticity paradigm. The introduction of the interface elasticity model gives rise to boundary conditions that are effectively equivalent to those of a weakly bounded interface. The equations of elastic equilibrium are solved by complex variable techniques and the method of analytical continuation. The solution is decomposed into the sum of the Green’s function corresponding to the perfectly bonded interface and a perturbation term corresponding to the complex coupling nature between the interface structure and a line dislocation/concentrated force. Such construct can be implemented into the boundary integral equations and the boundary element method for analysis of nano-layered structures and epitaxial systems where the interface structure plays an important role.     

Spherical Couette flow of a viscoelastic fluid – Part III: A study of outer sphere rotation

A study is carried out for the flow of viscoelastic fluid contained between a stationary inner sphere and a rotating outer sphere. A sequence of flow transitions that is unique to viscoelastic fluids is observed in the experiments. It is found that a `traveling cell', with roll-cell-like characteristics, is generated in the polar region, and then propagates toward the equatorial region when a dimensionless parameter (a measure of strength of the elasticity against the shear viscosity) is increased. In order to investigate the structure and mechanism of the traveling cell, a numerical analysis is performed using a constitutive equation of the Giesekus model. Results of the numerical simulation revealed that the elasticity of the fluid strongly influences the flow in the polar region, where the inertia effect of the outer sphere rotation is minimal, destabilizing the flow forming a pair of weak vortices at the polar region. It was further shown that the pair travel toward the equatorial region in a different manner depending upon the speed of rotation.     

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.     

Vibration of an infinite inhomogeneous transversely isotropic viscoelastic medium with cylindrical hole

This paper investigates the influences of higher order viscoelasticity and the inhomogeneities of the transversely isotropic elastic parameters on the disturbances in an infinite medium, caused by the presence of a transient radial force or twist on the surface of a cylindrical hole with circular cross section. Following Voigt＇s model for higher order viscoelasticity, the nonvanishing stress components valid for a transversely isotropic and higher order viscoelastic solid medium have been deduced in terms of radial displacement component. Considering the power law variation of elastic and viscoelastic parameters, the stress equation of motion has been developed. Solving this equation under suitable boundary conditions, due to transient forces and twists, radial displacement and relevant stress components have been determined in terms of modified Bessel functions. The problem for the presence of transient radial force has been numerically analysed. Modulations of displacement and stresses due to different order of viscoelasticity and inhomogeneity have been graphically depicted. The numerical study of the disturbance caused by the presence of twist on the surface may be similarly done but is not pursued in this paper.     

孤立波与半无限复合材料体耦合作用研究

基于一维颗粒链中产生的高度非线性孤立波,研究孤立波与半无限复合材料体的耦合作用。根据赫兹定律推导了一维颗粒链中颗粒间相互作用的运动微分方程,建立了颗粒链与半无限复合材料体的接触模型。对于颗粒与复合材料的接触,采用已有文献中修正后的赫兹定律,研究了高度非线性孤立波与半无限复合材料体的耦合力学作用机理,推导了颗粒链与半无限复合材料体的相互耦合运动微分方程组,通过数值计算,得到了各颗粒的内力、速度、位移曲线。分析了材料属性对回弹孤立波出现的时间、幅值的影响。结果表明:随着纤维方向弹性模量的增大,次级回弹波出现的时间和波幅都逐渐增大,随着垂直纤维方向弹性模量的增大,次级回弹波出现的时间先减小后增大,次级回弹波的幅值逐渐减小直至消失。     

Nonlocal elasticity: an approach based on fractional calculus

Fractional calculus is the mathematical subject dealing with integrals and derivatives of non-integer order. Although its age approaches that of classical calculus, its applications in mechanics are relatively recent and mainly related to fractional damping. Investigations using fractional spatial derivatives are even newer. In the present paper spatial fractional calculus is exploited to investigate a material whose nonlocal stress is defined as the fractional integral of the strain field. The developed fractional nonlocal elastic model is compared with standard integral nonlocal elasticity, which dates back to Eringen’s works. Analogies and differences are highlighted. The long tails of the power law kernel of fractional integrals make the mechanical behaviour of fractional nonlocal elastic materials peculiar. Peculiar are also the power law size effects yielded by the anomalous physical dimension of fractional operators. Furthermore we prove that the fractional nonlocal elastic medium can be seen as the continuum limit of a lattice model whose points are connected by three levels of springs with stiffness decaying with the power law of the distance between the connected points. Interestingly, interactions between bulk and surface material points are taken distinctly into account by the fractional model. Finally, the fractional differential equation in terms of the displacement function along with the proper static and kinematic boundary conditions are derived and solved implementing a suitable numerical algorithm. Applications to some example problems conclude the paper.     

Asymptotic splitting in the three-dimensional problem of elasticity for non-homogeneous piezoelectric plates

A novel asymptotic approach to the theory of non-homogeneous anisotropic plates is suggested. For the problem of linear static deformations we consider solutions, which are slowly varying in the plane of the plate in comparison to the thickness direction. A small parameter is introduced in the general equations of the theory of elasticity. According to the procedure of asymptotic splitting, the principal terms of the series expansion of the solution are determined from the conditions of solvability for the minor terms. Three-dimensional conditions of compatibility make the analysis more efficient and straightforward. We obtain the system of equations of classical Kirchhoff's plate theory, including the balance equations, compatibility conditions, elastic relations and kinematic relations between the displacements and strain measures. Subsequent analysis of the edge layer near the contour of the plate is required in order to satisfy the remaining boundary conditions of the three-dimensional problem. Matching of the asymptotic expansions of the solution in the edge layer and inside the domain provides four classical plate boundary conditions. Additional effects, like electromechanical coupling for piezoelectric plates, can easily be incorporated into the model due to the modular structure of the analysis. The results of the paper constitute a sound basis to the equations of the theory of classical plates with piezoelectric effects, and provide a trustworthy algorithm for computation of the stressed state in the three-dimensional problem. Numerical and analytical studies of a sample electromechanical problem demonstrate the asymptotic nature of the present theory.