Acoustic axes in elasticity

New results are presented for the degeneracy condition of elastic waves in anisotropic materials. The condition for the existence of acoustic axes involves a traceless symmetric third order tensor that must vanish identically. It is shown that all previous representations of the degeneracy condition follow from this acoustic axis tensor. The conditions for existence of acoustic axes in elastic crystals of orthorhombic, tetragonal, hexagonal and cubic (RTHC) symmetry are reinterpreted using the geometrical methods developed here. Application to weakly anisotropic solids is discussed, and it is shown that the satisfaction of the acoustic axes conditions to first order in anisotropy does not in general coincide with true acoustic axes.     

Surface waves in an exponentially graded, general anisotropic elastic material under the influence of gravity

In a recent paper Destrade [1] studied surface waves in an exponentially graded orthotropic elastic material. He showed that the quartic equation for the Stroh eigenvalue p is, after properly modified, a quadratic equation in p² with real coefficients. He also showed that the displacement and the stress decay at different rates with the depth x₂ of the half-space. Vinh and Seriani [2] considered the same problem and added the influence of gravity on surface waves. In this paper we generalize the problem to exponentially graded general anisotropic elastic materials. We prove that the coefficients of the sextic equation for p remain real and that the different decay rates for the displacement and the stress hold also for general anisotropic materials. A surface wave exists in the graded material under the influence of gravity if a surface wave can propagate in the homogeneous material without the influence of gravity in which the material parameters are taken at the surface of the graded half-space. As the wave number k → ∞, the surface wave speed approaches the surface wave speed for the homogeneous material. A new matrix differential equation for surface waves in an arbitrarily graded anisotropic elastic material under the influence of gravity is presented. Finally we discuss the existence of one-component surface waves in the exponentially graded anisotropic elastic material with or without the influence of gravity.     

Strain energy density bounds for linear anisotropic elastic materials

Upper and lower bounds are presented for the magnitude of the strain energy density in linear anisotropic elastic materials. One set of bounds is given in terms of the magnitude of the stress field, another in terms of the magnitude of the strain field. Explicit algebraic formulas are given for the bounds in the case of cubic, transversely isotropic, hexagonal and tetragonal symmetry. In the case of orthotropic symmetry the explicit bounds depend upon the solution of a cubic equation, and in the case of the monoclinic and triclinic symmetries, on the solution of sixth order equations.     

On Anisotropic Elastic Materials for which Young''s Modulus E ( n ) is Independent of n or the Shear Modulus G ( n , m ) is Independent of n and m

It is shown that, among anisotropic elastic materials, only certain orthotropic and hexagonal materials can have Young modulus E(n) independent of the direction n or the shear modulus G(n,m) independent of n and m. Thus the direction surface for E(n) can be a sphere for certain orthotropic and hexagonal materials. The structure of the elastic compliance for these materials is presented, and condition for identifying if the material is orthotropic or hexagonal is given. We also study the case in which n of E(n) and n, m of G(n,m) are restricted to a plane. When E(n) is a constant on a plane so are G(n,m) and Poisson's ratio ν(n,m). The converse, however, does not necessarily hold. A plane on which E(n) is a constant can exist for all anisotropic elastic materials. In particular, existence of such a plane is assured for trigonal, hexagonal and cubic materials. In fact there are four such planes for a cubic material. For these materials, not only E(n) is a constant, two other Young's moduli, the three shear moduli and the six Poisson's ratio on the plane are also constant.     

On displacement methods in planar anisotropic elasticity

Two displacement formulation methods are presented for problems of planar anisotropic elasticity. The first displacement method is based on solving the two governing partial differential equations simultaneously/ This method is a recapitulation of the orignal work of Eshelby, Read and Shockley [7] on generalized plane deformations of anisotropic elastic materials in the context of planar anisotropic elasticity.The second displacement method is based on solving the two governing equations separately. This formulation introduces a displacement function, which satisfies a fourth-order partial differential equation that is identical in the form to the one given by Lekhnitskii [6] for monoclinic materials using a stress function. Moreover, this method parallels the traditional Airy stress function method and thus the Lekhnitskii method for pure plane problems. Both the new approach and the Airy stress function method start with the equilibrium equations and use the same extended version of Green's theorem (Chou and Pagano [13], p. 114; Gao [11]) to derive the expressions for stress or displacement components in terms of a potential (stress or displacement) function (see also Gao [10, 11]). It is therefore anticipated that the displacement function involved in this new method could also be evaluated from measured data, as was done by Lin and Rowlands [17] to determine the Airy stress function experimentally.The two different displacement methods lead to two general solutions for problems of planar anisotropic elasticity. Although the two solutions differ in expressions, both of the depend on the complex roots of the same characteristic equation. Furthermore, this characteristic equation is identical to that obtained by Lekhnitskii [6] using a stress formulation. It is therefore concluded that the two displacement methods and Lekhnitskii's stress method are all equivalent for problems of planar anisotropic elasticity (see Gao and Rowlands [8] for detailed discussions).     

End effects for plane deformations of an elastic anisotropic semi-infinite strip

In the linear theory of elasticity, Saint-Venant's principle is used to justify the neglect of edge effects when determining stresses in a body. For isotropic materials, the validity of this is well established. However for anisotropic and composite materials, experimental results have shown that edge effects may persist much farther into the material than for isotropic materials and as a result cannot be neglected. This paper further examines the effects of material anisotropy on the exponential decay rate for stresses in a semi-infinite elastic strip. A linearly elastic semi-infinite strip in a state of plane stress/strain subject to a self-equilibrated end load is considered first for a specially orthotropic material and then for the general anisotropic material. The problem is governed by a fourth-order elliptic partial differential equation with constant coefficients. In the former case, just a single dimensionless material parameter appears, while in the latter, only three dimensionless parameters are required. Energy methods are used to establish lower bounds on the actual stress decay rate. Both analytic and numerical estimates are obtained in terms of the elastic constants of the material and results are shown for several contemporary engineering materials. When compared with the exact stress decay rate computed numerically from the eigenvalues of a fourth-order ordinary differential equation, the results in some cases show a high degree of accuracy. In particular, for strongly orthotropic materials, an asymptotic estimate provides extremely accurate estimates for the decay rate. Results of the type obtained here have several important practical applications. For example, they provide physical insight into the mechanical testing of anisotropic and laminated composite structures (including the off-axis tension test), are useful in assessing the influence of fasteners, joints, etc. on the behavior of composite structures and allow for tailoring a material with specific properties to ensure that local stresses attenuate at a desired rate.     

On the plastic wave speeds in rate-independent elastic–plastic materials with anisotropic elasticity

This paper presents a theoretical study of the speeds of plastic waves in rate-independent elastic–plastic materials with anisotropic elasticity. It is shown that for a given propagation direction the plastic wave speeds are equal to or lower than the corresponding elastic speeds, and a simple expression is provided for the bound on the difference between the elastic and the plastic wave speeds. The bound is given as a function of the plastic modulus and the magnitude of a vector defined by the current stress state and the propagation direction. For elastic–plastic materials with cubic symmetry and with tetragonal symmetry, the upper and lower bounds on the plastic wave speeds are obtained without numerically solving an eigenvalue problem. Numerical examples of materials with cubic symmetry (copper) and with tetragonal symmetry (tin) are presented as a validation of the proposed bounds. The lower bound proposed here on the minimum plastic wave speed may also be used as an efficient alternative to the bifurcation analysis at early stages of plastic deformation for the determination of the loss of ellipticity.     

Well-posedness of the fundamental boundary value problems for constrained anisotropic elastic materials

We consider the equations of linear homogeneous anisotropic elasticity admitting the possibility that the material is internally constrained, and formulate a simple necessary and sufficient condition for the fundamental boundary value problems to be well-posed. For materials fulfilling the condition, we establish continuous dependence of the displacement and stress on the elastic moduli and ellipticity of the elasticity system. As an application we determine the orthotropic materials for which the fundamental problems are well-posed in terms of their Young's moduli, shear moduli, and Poisson ratios. Finally, we derive a reformulation of the elasticity system that is valid for both constrained and unconstrained materials and involves only one scalar unknown in addition to the displacements. For a two-dimensional constrained material a further reduction to a single scalar equation is outlined.This paper is dedicated to Professor Joachim Nitsche on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday     

Orthotropic elastic media having a closed form expression of the Green tensor

Obtaining the Green tensor for the most general orthotropic medium is not generally possible in a closed form because the solution requires the roots of a sextic, often known as Stroh eigenvalues. The paper gives some conditions under which the sextic can be solved in a closed form for any direction within the space. It enables the construction of classes of orthotropic materials for which the Green tensor can be computed in a closed form (closed-form orthotropic or CFO) for any direction within the space. The cases of transversely isotropic, tetragonal and cubic materials are studied as special cases. The comparison between the exact Green function and approximate Green functions obtained from the nearest CFO material (in the sense of four different distances) is finally performed in the case of five examples of elasticity tensors.     

Implicit and explicit secular equations for Rayleigh waves in two-dimensional anisotropic media

This paper is concerned with the derivation of implicit and explicit secular equations for Rayleigh waves polarized in a plane of symmetry of an anisotropic linear elastic medium. It has been confirmed, in accord with Ting’s paper [2], that the Rayleigh waves propagate with no geometric dispersion. Numerical evaluations of both the implicit and explicit equations give the same values of Rayleigh wave velocities. In the case of orthotropic material (thin composites) it has been found that Rayleigh wave velocity depends significantly (as with bulk waves) on the directions of principal material axes. For the same material model the analytical solutions, based on implicit and explicit secular equations, were compared against the finite element and experimental data that had been published by Cerv et al. [4] in 2010. It emerged that the theory was in accordance with the experiment.     

各向异性介质的弹性波散射问题的边界元方法

本文引用加权残数法建立了各向异性介质内含任意形式异质夹杂时的散射问题的边界积分方程式,导出了相应的辐射条件,计算了内含圆柱体,椭圆柱体、界面裂纹情形下对SH 波的散射位移场、应力场以及散射横截面.数值结果表明本方法用于解答各向异性介质的弹性波散射问题具有良好的精度和应用前景.     

Instabilities and loss of ellipticity in fiber-reinforced compressible non-linearly elastic solids under plane deformation

In a recent paper we examined the loss of ellipticity and its interpretation in terms of fiber kinking and other instability phenomena in respect of a fiber-reinforced incompressible elastic material. Here we provide a corresponding analysis for fiber-reinforced compressible elastic materials. The analysis concerns a material model which consists of an isotropic base material augmented by a reinforcement dependent on the fiber direction. The assessment of loss of ellipticity can be cast in terms of the eigenvalues of the acoustic tensors associated with the isotropic and anisotropic parts of the strain-energy function. For the anisotropic part, two different reinforcing models are examined and it is shown that, depending on the choice of model and whether the fiber is under compression or extension, loss of ellipticity may be associated with, in particular, a weak surface of discontinuity normal to or parallel to the deformed fiber direction or at an intermediate angle. Under compression the associated failure interpretations include fiber kinking and fiber splitting, while under extension fiber de-bonding and matrix failure are included.     

PMN-PT夹层弹性半空间结构中SH波的传播Propagation of SH waves in sandwich structures consisting of PMN-PT single crystal layer and elastic half-spaces

分析了弹性上下半空间和PMN‐PT单晶层组成的夹层结构中SH波的传播性质,PMN‐PT单晶沿[011]c方向极化,宏观上呈mm2对称,且晶体沿角度θ方向切割。基于正交各向异性压电材料和各向同性弹性材料的基本方程,得到了夹层结构中SH波传播时行列式形式的频散方程。通过对数值算例进行分析可以看出,PMN‐PT单晶的切割角度和弹性材料属性对结构中的相速度有很大影响,因此波的某些传播性能可以通过材料的设计以及晶体切割的方向来实现,这些结论为声表面波器件的开发和应用提供了理论依据。     

Purely transverse waves in elastic anisotropic media

Formulas are obtained for decompositions of the third- and fourth-rank tensors symmetric in the last two and three indices, respectively, into irreducible parts invariant relative to the orthogonal group of coordinate transformation. The corresponding parts of the decompositions are orthogonal to each other. These decompositions are used to obtain a general representation of the displacement vectors of plane transverse waves in elastic isotropic and anisotropic solids. It is shown that the displacement vectors of transverse waves are second-, third-, and fourth-degree homogeneous polynomials of the wave normal. Special orthotropic materials are found that transmit purely transverse waves for any direction of the wave normal. The eigenmoduli, eigenstates, and engineering constants (bulk moduli, Youngs moduli, Poissons ratios, shear moduli, and Lame constants of the closest isotropic materials) are determined for these materials.Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 160–172, January–February, 2005     

Stroh formulation for a generally constrained and pre-stressed elastic material

The Stroh formalism is essentially a spatial Hamiltonian formulation and has been recognized to be a powerful tool for solving elasticity problems involving generally anisotropic elastic materials for which conventional methods developed for isotropic materials become intractable. In this paper we develop the Stroh/Hamiltonian formulation for a generally constrained and prestressed elastic material. We derive the corresponding integral representation for the surface-impedance tensor and explain how it can be used, together with a matrix Riccati equation, to calculate the surface-wave speed. The proposed algorithm can deal with any form of constraint, pre-stress, and direction of wave propagation. As an illustration, previously known results are reproduced for surface waves in a pre-stressed incompressible elastic material and an unstressed inextensible fibre-reinforced composite, and an additional example is included analyzing the effects of pre-stress upon surface waves in an inextensible material.     

Parametric identification of crystals having a cubic lattice with negative Poisson’s ratios

A two-dimensional model of an anisotropic crystalline material with cubic symmetry is considered. This model consists of a square lattice of round rigid particles, each possessing two translational and one rotational degree of freedom. Differential equations that describe propagation of elastic and rotational waves in such a medium are derived. A relationship between three groups of parameters is found: second-order elastic constants, acoustic wave velocities, and microstructure parameters. Values of the microstructure parameters of the considered anisotropic material at which its Poisson’s ratios become negative are found.     

Green's function solution and displacement potentials for Transformed Transversely Isotropic materials

A totally non-degenerate expression for the Green's function of infinite Transversely Isotropic (TI) materials is first deduced from the solutions given by Pan and Chou [Pan, Y.-C., Chou, T.-W., 1976. Point force solution for an infinite transversely isotropic solid. Trans. ASME, J. Appl. Mech. 43 (4), 608–612]. Then this solution and also the displacement potentials for TI materials are extended by a linear transformation to a larger family of anisotropic materials (Transformed Transversely Isotropic or TraTI materials). This family depends on 12 independent parameters and contains non-orthotropic materials and in this way a first explicit analytical solution for the Green's function for a non-orthotropic material is obtained. The TraTI materials which have orthotropic Symmetry (StraTI materials) constitute a sub-family depending on 6 independent parameters in the symmetry basis of the material. These materials present a 3D anisotropy (different stiffnesses in three orthogonal directions). General displacement potentials and the Green's function solution for STraTI materials can be deduced by a simple change and introducing one additional parameter in the well-known TI solutions.     

On the strong ellipticity for orthotropic micropolar elastic bodies in a plane strain state

In the present paper we consider an orthotropic micropolar elastic material subject to a state of plane strain. In this context, we establish necessary and sufficient conditions for the strong ellipticity of constitutive coefficients. Furthermore, we study existence of progressive plane waves under the strong ellipticity conditions previously determined. Finally, we detail the results obtained for a specific class of materials related to tetragonal systems.     

Elastodynamic analysis of inhomogeneous anisotropic bodies

The integral equation method is presented for elastodynamic problems of inhomogeneous anisotropic bodies. Since fundamental solutions are not available for general inhomogeneous anisotropic media, we employ the fundamental solution for homogeneous elastostatics. The terms induced by material inhomogeneity and inertia force are regarded as body forces in elastostatics, and evaluated in the form of volume integrals. The scattering problems of elastic waves by inhomogeneous anisotropic inclusions are investigated for some test cases. Numerical results show the significant effects of inhomogeneity and anisotropy of materials on wave propagations.