Structured deformations of continua (Q1311430)

This paper is concerned with a rigorous analysis of transplacement fields of fractured continua in which displacement fields suffer finite discontinuities on a set of zero measure. To this end, first the concept of simple deformation is introduced in contrast to the classical deformation. A simple deformation of a body \(B\) is a pair \((\kappa,f)\) where \(\kappa\subset B\) is a set of zero measure denoting the crack site, and the \(f: B\backslash\kappa\to B\) is injective. Several important properties, such as composition of these kind of deformations, are proved precisely and the results associated with classical deformations are extended. Then a structured deformation is defined as the triplet \((\kappa,f,F)\), where \(F\) is a second order tensor field which resembles \(\nabla f\). In the main theorem of the paper it is shown that every structured deformation is the limit of sequence of simple deformations. Thus many properties of structured deformation can be deduced immediately. Microfracture tensors are either obtained from the difference \(\nabla f-F\) or polar decomposition of the tensor \(\nabla f\). In the last part of the paper the purely kinematical results are employed in clarifying some non-classical deformations which are inherently present in certain continuum theories involving plasticity, liquid crystals, crystals with continuous distribution of dislocations and mixtures.