On the existence of a field of stress rates in a hardening elastic-plastic medium : PMM vol. 38, n 6, 1974, pp. 1114–1121

The boundary value problem for the stress rates and rates of change fields in the quasi-static motion of a volume V of an elastic-plastic medium 1] consists of finding the pairs σ_ij^., _ij^. related by the governing equations of an appropriate model; here the σ_ij^. should be statically admissible i.e. should satisfy the equations and boundary conditions σ_ij=−X/._i; /.σ_ijn_j|S_p=p_i and _ij should be kinematically admissible i.e. 2/._ij = v_ij + v_ji, where v_i|S_u = u_io Here S_p and S_u are nonintersecting parts of the boundary of the volume V, X_i, p_i, u_i/.o are specified functions. The question of the existence of a solution of this problem reduces to the question of the functional reaching the lower bound in a set of kinematically admissible /._ij^o and statically admissible σ_ij/.^/*. However, its lower bound may not be reached if in the minimization we limit ourselves only to smooth fields. It is proposed to augment the set of admissible fields σ_ij/.^/*,_ij/.^o by closing them in the norm L₂ (for v_i^o this corresponds to closure in the norm II¹). Some properties of the functional I (σ_ij^*,_ij/.) are considered in the augmented set of admissible fields. It is shown that the equivalence of the two problems is conserved, where I (σ_ij^*,_ij⁰ can be minimized in σ_ij^/*,_ij^o or in σ_ij^/*,_ij/.^o, The lower bound is reached in each of three cases, at a single point. From the fact that u_i^o belongs to the Sobolev space W₂⁽¹⁾, there results the absence of surfaces of velocity discontinuity. Variational principles have been used in plasticity theory to construct models 2] and to investigate the existence and properties of solutions 1, 3].