Using a generalization of vector calculus for space with non-integer dimension, we consider elastic properties of fractal materials. Fractal materials are described by continuum models with non-integer dimensional space. A generalization of elasticity equations for non-integer dimensional space, and its solutions for equilibrium case of fractal materials are suggested. Elasticity problems for fractal hollow ball and cylindrical fractal elastic pipe with inside and outside pressures, for rotating cylindrical fractal pipe, for gradient elasticity and thermoelasticity of fractal materials are solved.
Derivatives and integrals of non-integer order may have a wide application in describing complex properties of materials including long-term memory, non-locality of power-law type and fractality. In this paper we consider extensions of elasticity theory that allow us to describe elasticity of materials with fractional non-locality, memory and fractality. The basis of our consideration is an extension of the usual variational principle for fractional non-locality and fractality. For materials with power-law non-locality described by Riesz derivatives of non-integer order, we suggest a fractiona…
In this paper we consider extensions of the gradient elasticity models proposed earlier by the second author to describe materials with fractional non-locality and fractality using the techniques developed recently by the first author. We derive a generalization of three-dimensional continuum gradient elasticity theory, starting from integral relations and assuming a weak non-locality of power-law type that gives constitutive relations with fractional Laplacian terms, by utilizing the fractional Taylor series in wave-vector space. In the sequel we consider non-linear field equations with fract…
This paper is devoted to the mechanics of fractal materials. A continuum framework accounting for the topological and metric properties of fractal domains in heterogeneous media is developed. The kinematics of deformations is elucidated and the symmetry of the Cauchy stress tensor is established. The mapping of mechanical problems for fractal materials into the corresponding problems for the fractal continuum is discussed. Stress and strain distributions in elastic fractal bars are analyzed. Some features of acoustic wave propagation and localization in scale-invariant media are briefly discus…
Colloidal gels are out of equilibrium soft solids composed of attractive Brownian particles that form a space-spanning network at low volume fractions. The elastic properties of these systems result from the network microstructure, which is very sensitive to shear history. Here, we take advantage of such sensitivity to tune the viscoelastic properties of a colloidal gel made of carbon black nanoparticles. Starting from a fluidized state under an applied shear rate $\dot γ_0$, we use an abrupt flow cessation to trigger a liquid-to-solid transition. We observe that the resulting gel is all the m…
Non-singular dislocation continuum theories are studied. A comparison between Peierls-Nabarro dislocations and straight dislocations in strain gradient elasticity is given. The non-singular displacement fields, non-singular stresses, plastic distortions and dislocation core shapes are analyzed and compared for the two models. The main conclusion of this study is that due to their characteristic properties, the non-singular displacement fields, non-singular stresses and dislocation core shape of screw and edge dislocations obtained in the framework of strain gradient elasticity are more realist…
The physical gelation of colloids produces elastic structures that are commonly used to stabilize complex fluids in multiple industries. However, the ability to control the level of elastic modulus of these materials is limited by the universality of the arrested spinodal decomposition mechanism that governs their formation. We demonstrate that manipulating particle shape can yield very large shifts in gel elasticity relative to this universal behavior, and that these changes are generated by a set of independent mechanisms that act multiplicatively. Modeling demonstrates that this efficient g…
Crystal lattice deformations can be described microscopically by explicitly accounting for the position of atoms or macroscopically by continuum elasticity. In this work, we report on the description of continuous elastic fields derived from an atomistic representation of crystalline structures that also include features typical of the microscopic scale. Analytic expressions for strain components are obtained from the complex amplitudes of the Fourier modes representing periodic lattice positions, which can be generally provided by atomistic modeling or experiments. The magnitude and phase of …
In this paper, we develop a non-singular continuum theory of point defects based on a second strain gradient elasticity theory, the so-called gradient elasticity of bi-Helmholtz type. Such a generalized continuum theory possesses a weak nonlocal character with two internal material lengths and provides a mechanics of defects without singularities. Gradient elasticity of bi-Helmholtz type gives a natural and physical regularization of the classical singularities of defects, based on higher order partial differential equations. Point defects embedded in an isotropic solid are considered as eigen…
Lattice models with long-range interactions of power-law type are suggested as a new type of microscopic model for fractional non-local elasticity. Using the transform operation, we map the lattice equations into continuum equation with Riesz derivatives of non-integer orders. The continuum equations that are obtained from the lattice model describe fractional generalization of non-local elasticity models. Particular solutions and correspondent asymptotic of the fractional differential equations for displacement fields are suggested for the static case.
A lattice model with a spatial dispersion corresponding to a power-law type is suggested. This model serves as a microscopic model for elastic continuum with power-law non-locality. We prove that the continuous limit maps of the equations for the lattice with the power-law spatial dispersion into the continuum equations with fractional generalizations of the Laplacian operators. The suggested continuum equations, which are obtained from the lattice model, are fractional generalizations of the integral and gradient elasticity models. These equations of fractional elasticity are solved for two s…
Recent static experiments on twist effects in chiral three-dimensional mechanical metamaterials have been discussed in the context of micropolar Eringen continuum mechanics, which is a generalization of Cauchy elasticity. For cubic symmetry, Eringen elasticity comprises nine additional parameters with respect to Cauchy elasticity, of which three directly influence chiral effects. Here, we discuss the behavior of the static case of an alternative generalization of Cauchy elasticity, the Milton-Briane-Willis equations. We show that in the homogeneous static cubic case only one additional paramet…
We study the continuum epitaxial model for elastic interacting atomic steps on vicinal surfaces proposed by Xiang and E (Xiang, SIAM J. Appl. Math. 63:241-258, 2002; Xiang and E, Phys. Rev. B 69:035409, 2004). The non-local term and the singularity complicate the analysis of its PDE. In this paper, we first generalize this model to the Lennard-Jones (m,n) interaction between steps. Based on several important formulations of the non-local energy, we prove the existence, symmetry, unimodality, and regularity of the energy minimizer in the periodic setting. In particular, the symmetry and unimoda…
Flexible mechanical metamaterials possess repeating structural motifs that imbue them with novel, exciting properties including programmability, anomalous elastic moduli and nonlinear and robust response. We address such structures via micromorphic continuum elasticity, which allows highly nonuniform deformations (missed in conventional elasticity) within unit cells that nevertheless vary smoothly between cells. We show that the bulk microstructure gives rise to boundary elastic terms. Discrete lattice theories have shown that critically coordinated structures possess a topological invariant w…
A finite-deformation crystal-elasticity membrane model for Transition Metal Dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers is presented. Monolayer TMDs are multi-atom-thick two-dimensional (2D) crystalline membranes having atoms arranged in three parallel surfaces. In the present formulation, the deformed configuration of a TMD-membrane is represented through the deformation map of its middle surface and two stretches normal to the middle surface. Crystal-elasticity based kinematic rules are employed to express the deformed bond lengths and bond angles of TMDs in terms of the continuum strains. The continuum…
Open cellular solids usually possess random microstructures that may contain a characteristic length scale, such as the cell size. This gives rise to size dependent mechanical properties where large systems behave differently from small systems. Furthermore, these structures are often irregular, which not only affects the size dependent behaviour but also leads to significant property variations among different microstructure realizations. The computational model for cellular microstructures is based on networks of Timoshenko beams. It is a computationally efficient approach allowing to obtain…
Wave propagation in architectured materials, or materials with microstructure, is known to be dependent on the ratio between the wavelength and a characteristic size of the microstructure. Indeed, when this ratio decreases (i.e. when the wavelength approaches this characteristic size) important quantities, such as phase and group velocity, deviate considerably from their low frequency/long wavelength values. This well-known phenomenon is called dispersion of waves. Objective of this work is to show that strain-gradient elasticity can be used to quantitatively describe the behaviour of a micros…
In this paper anisotropic and dispersive wave propagation within linear strain-gradient elasticity is investigated. This analysis reveals significant features of this extended theory of continuum elasticity. First, and contrarily to classical elasticity, wave propagation in hexagonal (chiral or achiral) lattices becomes anisotropic as the frequency increases. Second, since strain-gradient elasticity is dispersive, group and energy velocities have to be treated as different quantities. These points are first theoretically derived, and then numerically experienced on hexagonal chiral and achiral…
The dislocation core is an important region as it controls many important properties of materials. Elasticity breaks down in the core and the stress, force, and energy diverge at the dislocation line. We consider three commonest methods employed in Discrete Dislocation Dynamics (DDD) simulations to eliminate these singularities: (1) considering a cutoff parameter, (2) spreading the Burgers vector (CAWB theory), and (3) using gradient elasticity. Each of these methods includes an extra length parameter to regularize the elastic fields. In this article, we show that these regularization paramete…
In this paper, a recently developed Higher Order Microplane (HOM) model for softening and localization, is implemented within a isogeometric finite element framework. The HOM model was derived directly from a three dimensional discrete particle model and it was shown to be associated with a high order continuum characterized by independent rotation and displacement fields. Furthermore, the HOM model possesses two characteristic lengths: the first associated with the spacing of flaws in the material internal structure and related to the gradient character of the continuum; and the second associ…
We propose a fast method to determine the local curvature in two-dimensional (2D) systems with arbitrary shape. The curvature information, combined with elastic constants obtained for a planar system, provides an accurate estimate of the local stability in the framework of continuum elasticity theory. Relative stabilities of graphitic structures including fullerenes, nanotubes and schwarzites, as well as phosphorene nanotubes, calculated using this approach, agree closely with ab initio density functional calculations. The continuum elasticity approach can be applied to all 2D structures and i…
We investigate the emergence of isotropic linear elasticity in amorphous and polycrystalline solids, via extensive numerical simulations. We show that the elastic properties are correlated over a finite length scale $ξ_E$, so that the central limit theorem dictates the emergence of continuum linear isotropic elasticity on increasing the specimen size. The stiffness matrix of systems of finite size $L > ξ_E$ is obtained adding to that predicted by linear isotropic elasticity a random one of spectral norm $(L/ξ_E)^{-3/2}$, in three spatial dimensions. We further demonstrate that the elastic leng…
Modelling two-dimensional chiral materials is a challenging problem in continuum mechanics because three-dimensional theories reduced to isotropic two-dimensional problems become non-chiral. Various approaches have been suggested to overcome this problem. We propose a new approach to this problem by formulating an intrinsically two-dimensional model which does not require references to a higher dimensional one. We are able to model planar chiral materials starting from a geometrically non-linear Cosserat type elasticity theory. Our results are in agreement with previously derived equations of …
Strain gradient elasticity and nonlocal elasticity are two enhanced elastic theories intensively used over the last fifty years to explain static and dynamic phenomena that classical elasticity fails to do. The nonlocal elastic theory has a clear differentiation from the classical case by considering stresses in a point of the continuum as an integral of all stresses defined in the treated elastic body. On the other hand, strain gradient elasticity is characterized as a non-classical theory because considers both potential and kinetic energy densities as not only functions of strains and veloc…
The Cosserat model generalises an elastic material taking into account the possible microstructure of the elements of the material continuum. In particular, within the Cosserat model the structured material point is rigid and can only experience microrotation, which is also known as micropolar elasticity. We present the geometrically nonlinear theory taking into account all possible interaction terms between the elastic and microelastic structure. This is achieved by considering the irreducible pieces of the deformation gradient and of the dislocation curvature tensor. In addition we also cons…
