An initial boundary value problem for modeling a piezoelectric dipolar body

This study deals with the first initial boundary value problem in elasticity of piezoelectric dipolar bodies. We consider the most general case of an anisotropic and inhomogeneous elastic body having a dipolar structure. For two different types of restrictions imposed on the problem data, we prove two results regarding the uniqueness of solution, by using a different but accessible method. Then, the mixed problem is transformed in a temporally evolutionary equation on a Hilbert space, conveniently constructed based on the problem data. With the help of a known result from the theory of semigroups of operators, the existence and uniqueness of the weak solution for this equation are proved.     

Homogenization of the equations of the Cosserat theory of elasticity of inhomogeneous bodies

The paper deals with the homogenization of a boundary value problem for an inhomogeneous body with Cosserat properties, which is referred to as the original problem. The homogenization process is understood as a method for representing the solution of the original problem in terms of the solution of precisely the same problem for a body with homogeneous properties. The problem for a body with homogeneous properties is called the accompanying problem, and the body itself, the accompanying homogeneous body. As a rule, a constructive homogenization procedure includes the following three stages: at the first stage, the properties of the inhomogeneous body are used to find the properties of the accompanying homogeneous body (efficient properties); at the second stage, the boundary value problem is solved for the accompanying body; at the third stage, the solution of the accompanying problem is used to find the solution of the original problem. This approach was implemented in mechanics of composite materials constructed of numerous representative elements. A significant contribution to the development of mechanics of composites is due to Rabotnov [1–3] and his students. Recently, the homogenization method has been widely used to solve problems for composites of regular structure by expanding the solution of the original problem in a power series in a small geometric parameter equal to the ratio of the characteristic dimension of the periodicity cell to the characteristic dimension of the entire body. The papers by Bakhvalov [4–6] and Pobedrya [7] were the first in the field. At present, there are numerous monographs partially or completely dealing with the method of a small geometric parameter [8–14]. Isolated problems for inhomogeneous bodies with nonperiodic dependence of their properties on the coordinates were considered by many authors. Most of such papers published before 1973 are collected in two vast bibliographic indices [15, 16]. General methods were considered, and many specific problems of the theory of elasticity of continuously inhomogeneous bodies were solved in Lomakin’s papers and his monograph [17]. The theory of torsion of inhomogeneous anisotropic rods was considered in [18]. In 1991, in his Doctoral dissertation, one of the authors of this paper proposed a version of the homogenization method based on an integral formula representing the solution of the original static problem of inhomogeneous elasticity via the solution of the accompanying problem [19, 20]. An integral formula for the dynamic problem of elasticity was published somewhat later [21]. This integral formula was used to develop a constructive method for the homogenization of the dynamic problem of inhomogeneous elasticity, which can be used in the case of both periodic and nonperiodic inhomogeneity of the properties [22]. The integral formula in the case of the Cosserat theory of elasticity was published in [23]. The present paper briefly presents constructive methods for homogenizing the problems of the Cosserat theory of elasticity based on the integral formula.     

From Non-Linear Elasticity to Linearized Theory: Examples Defying Intuition

Material frame indifference implies that the solution in non-linear elasticity theory for a connected body rigidly rotated at its border is a rigid, stress-free, deformation. If the same problem is considered within linear elasticity theory, considered as an approximation to the true elastic situation, one should expect that if the angle of rotation is small, the body still undergoes a rigid deformation while the corresponding stress, though not zero, remains consistently small. Here, we show that this is true, in general, only for homogeneous bodies. Counterexamples of inhomogeneous bodies are presented for which, whatever small the angle of rotation is, the linear elastic solution is by no means a rigid rotation (in a particular case it is an “explosion”) while the stress may even become infinite. If the same examples are re-interpreted as problems in an elasticity theory based upon genuinely linear constitutive relations which retain their validity also for finite deformations, it is shown that they would deliver constraint reaction forces that are not in equilibrium in the actual, deformed, state. This furnishes another characterization of the impossibility of an exact linear constitutive theory for elastic solids with zero residual stress.      

Stability of a cantilevered skew inhomogeneous plate in supersonic gas flow

This paper considers the vibrations of a skew inhomogeneous plate in gas flow. The plate is clamped in a certain section of one of its sides. Interaction of the flow with the plate is described using piston theory. The problem solution is based on the Hamilton’s variational principle and finite element method. The calculation results are compared with known data of theoretical studies and experiments. For the inhomogeneous plate, similarity parameters were established for the problem, which, in practically important cases, appears to be self-similar for one of the similarity parameters. This allows one to reduce the solution of this problem to the solution of an algebraic eigenvalue problem.     

The Nonlinearly Elastic Equilibrium of a Compound Rectangular Plate with Friction Between the Layers

We consider a spatial boundary-value problem in the physically nonlinear theory of elasticity for a multilayered rectangular plate with friction between the layers. The nonlinear relationships between stresses and small strains are assumed to have Kauderer's form. The nonlinear boundary-value solution is constructed as series in powers of a physical dimensionless parameter. The physically nonlinear problem posed is reduced to a sequence of linear inhomogeneous problems. The effect of physical nonlinearity on the elastic equilibrium of a two-layer thick plate with friction between the layers is studied.     

Love solutions in the linear inhomogeneous transversely isotropic theory of elasticity

A general Love solution for the inhomogeneous transversely isotropic theory of elasticity with the elastic constants dependent on the coordinate z is proposed. This result may be considered as a generalization of the Love solutions we recently derived for the inhomogeneous isotropic theory of elasticity. The key steps of deriving the Love solution for the classical linear homogeneous transversely isotropic theory of elasticity are described for further use of the derivation procedure, which is then generalized to the inhomogeneous transversely isotropic case. Some particular cases of inhomogeneity traditionally used in the theory of elasticity are also examined. The significance of the derived solutions and their importance for the modeling of functionally graded materials are briefly discussed     

Revisiting displacement functions in three-dimensional elasticity of inhomogeneous media

The paper presents a three-dimensional solution to the equilibrium equations for linear elastic transversely isotropic inhomogeneous media. We assume that the material has constant Poisson’s ratios, and its Young’s and shear moduli have the same functional form of dependence on the co-ordinate normal to the plane of isotropy. We show, apparently for the first time, that stresses and displacements in such an inhomogeneous transversely isotropic elastic solid can be represented in terms of two displacement functions which satisfy the second- and fourth-order partial differential equations. We examine and discuss key aspects of the new representation; they include the relationship between the new displacement functions and Plevako’s solution for isotropic inhomogeneous material with constant Poisson’s ratio as well as the application of the new representation to some important classes of three-dimensional elasticity problems. As an example, the displacement function is derived that can be used to determine stresses and displacements in an inhomogeneous transversely isotropic half-space which is subjected to a concentrated force normal to a free surface and applied at the origin (Boussinesq’s problem).     

A transformation of elastic boundary value problems with application to anisotropic behavior

A general geometrical transformation of the coordinates and of the displacement field is proposed; it is used to convert any boundary value problem for a linear elastic body into another one with different geometry, elastic moduli and boundary conditions. With this method, new problems, especially for inhomogeneous anisotropic bodies, may be solved by use of solutions of simpler ones. After a derivation of sufficient conditions to be fulfilled by such a transformation, the case of a linear homogeneous transformation is investigated in more detail. It is shown that a number of situations exist for which the transformed problem has a known analytical solution which can be used to derive the solution of the original problem straightforwardly. Special attention is paid to Saint-Venant-type anisotropy and to the derivation of the Green function for an infinite or a semi-infinite body.     

General love solution in the linear isotropic inhomogeneous theory of radius-dependent elasticity

A general Love solution for the inhomogeneous linear isotropic theory of elasticity with the elastic constants dependent on the coordinate r is proposed. The axisymmetric case is analyzed and cylindrical coordinates are used. This is the fourth publication in the series on general solutions in the inhomogeneous theory of elasticity. The new results are promising for the modern theory of functionally graded materials. The key steps of deriving the Love solutions are described for further use of the derivation procedure. The procedure of generalizing the Love solutions to the inhomogeneous theory of elasticity is detailed. The results obtained are discussed     

Asymptotic analysis of a 3D elasticity problem for a radially inhomogeneous transversally isotropic hollow cylinder

The method of asymptotic integration of equations of elasticity [1] is used to study the behavior of the solution of a 3D elasticity problem for a radially inhomogeneous transversally isotropic hollow cylinder of small thickness. Under the assumption that the load is sufficiently smooth, the asymptotic method [1] is used to construct inhomogeneous solutions. An algorithm for constructing exact particular solutions of the equilibrium equations is given for loads of specific types in the case where the cylinder lateral surface is loaded by forces polynomially depending on the axial coordinate. Then the homogeneous solutions are constructed. The asymptotic expansions of homogeneous solutions are obtained, and the above analysis is used to explain the character of the stress-strain state.     

Edge effect in a fibrous composite with near-surface fibers subjected to uniform loading

The decay rate of the edge effect in a material reinforced with fibers of square cross-section and subjected to transverse uniaxial deformation is studied. The case of uniform loading of near-surface fibers is considered. The edge effect is analyzed by numerically solving a boundary-value problem of elasticity for inhomogeneous bodies and applying a quantitative decay criterion for normal stresses __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 15–23, November 2007.     

Study of the Resonant Vibrations and Dissipative Heating of Thin-Walled Elements Made of a Physically Nonlinear Material

An approximate formulation is given to a dynamic coupled thermomechanical problem for physically nonlinear inelastic thin-walled structural elements within the framework of a geometrically linear theory and the Kirchhoff–Love hypotheses. A simplified model is used to describe the vibrations and dissipative heating of inhomogeneous physically nonlinear bodies under harmonic loading. Nonstationary vibroheating problem is solved. The dissipative function obtained from the solution for steady-state vibrations is used to simulate internal heat sources. For the partial case of forced vibrations of a beam, the amplitude–frequency characteristics of the field quantities are studied within a wide frequency range. The temperature characteristics for the first and second resonance modes are compared.     

Exact Solutions for a Thick Elastic Plate with a Thin Elastic Surface Layer

A procedure has been developed in previous papers for constructing exact solutions of the equations of linear elasticity in a plate (not necessarily thin) of inhomogeneous isotropic linearly elastic material in which the elastic moduli depend in any specified manner on a coordinate normal to the plane of the plate. The essential idea is that any solution of the classical equations for a hypothetical thin plate or laminate (which are two-dimensional theories) generates, by straightforward substitutions, a solution of the three-dimensional elasticity equations for the inhomogeneous material. In this paper we consider a thick plate of isotropic elastic material with a thin surface layer of different isotropic elastic material. It is shown that the interface tractions and in-plane stress discontinuities are determined only by the initial two-dimensional solution, without recourse to the three-dimensional elasticity theory. Two illustrative examples are described.     

Longitudinal free vibration of inhomogeneous elastic straight strut with a variable cross section

The scope of the present article, motivated by the case of the composite wooden propeller of an airplane, is to deal tentatively with the longitudinal free vibrationproblem of an elastic straight bar with a more general mathematical treatment.In this analysis, we have assigned to the modulus of elasticity, the bar cross section as well as the mass per unit length of the bar an exponential function variation, and then found a general solution, wherein three parameters were considered as the main factors to affect the longitudinal free vibration of the inhomogeneous elastic straight bar with a variable cross section.     

On the problem of integrability of the axisymmetric boundary-value problem of dynamics for an inhomogeneous anisotropic finite cylinder

A closed solution is obtained for the axisymmetric boundary-value problem of dynamics for a finite cylinder with exponential elasticity and inertial inhomogeneity and a certain relationship between elastic constants on the basis of correlations of the linear theory of elasticity of an anisotropic inhomogeneous body. The boundary conditions are arbitrary on the curvilinear surface and are given in mixed form on the ends. The method of finite integral transforms is employed. Specific cases for cylinders of transverscly isotropic and isotropic homogeneous material are discussed. Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Samara, Russia. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 19–29, April, 1999.     

Energy-consistent shear coefficients for beams with circular cross sections and radially inhomogeneous materials

An exact computational method for the shear stiffness of beams with circular cross sections and arbitrarily radially inhomogeneous Young’s modulus is presented. We derive the displacement and stress field of a cantilever beam according to 3D theory of elasticity, which requires to solve just a 1D linear boundary value problem. The shear stiffness is obtained by setting the shear strain energy from the exact solution equal to that from technical beam theory. Results and closed analytical formulae are given for several functionally graded and layered cross sections.     

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).     

NEW POINTS OF VIEW ON THE NONLOCAL FIELD THEORY AND THEIR APPLICATIONS TO THE FRACTURE MECHANICS (Ⅰ)──FUNDAMENTAL THEORY

In the linear nonlocal elasticity theory, the solution to the boundary-value problem of the crack with a constant stress boundary condition does not exist. This problem has been studied in this paper. The contents studied contain of examining objectivity of the energy balance, deducing the constitutive equations of nonlocal thermoelastic bodies, and determining nonlocal force and the linear nonlocal elasticity theory. Some new results are obtained. Among them, the stress boundary condition derived from the linear theory not only solves the problem mentioned at the beginning, but also contains the model of molecular cohesive stress on the sharp crack tip advanced by Barenblatt.     

Estimates of thermoelastic characteristics of composites reinforced by short anisotropic fibers

We construct a mathematical model describing thermomechanical interaction between composite structure elements (isotropic particles of the matrix and anisotropic short fibers) and the macroscopically isotropic elastic medium with desired thermoelastic characteristics. At the first stage of this model, the self-consistency method is used to obtain relations determining the elasticity moduli of the composite, and at the second stage, the model permits determining its linear thermal expansion coefficient. The dual variational statement of the linear thermoelasticity problem in an inhomogeneous solid permits obtaining two-sided estimates for the bulk elasticity modulus, shear modulus, and linear thermal expansion coefficient of the composite under study. The calculated dependencies presented in the paper permit predicting the thermoelastic characteristics of a composite reinforced by anisotropic short fibers (including those in the form of nanostructure elements).     

圆柱正交异性体三维弹性问题的一个解法

本文从三维弹性力学基本方程出发,导出了圆柱正交异性体三维弹性静、动态问题的状态方程,并进而求得以位移表达的控制方程.还对横观各向同性体的轴对称问题给出了一个完备闭合解.文中算例计算了一个横观各向同性组合圆柱体的轴对称问题.