A weak approach to finite elasticity (Q1315031)

On the basis of four axioms the kinematics of perfectly elastic bodies and in particular the notion of weak deformation of a perfectly elastic body are defined. Weak deformations turn out to agree with weak diffeomorphisms, a class of rectifiable currents which enjoys good closure and compactness properties. Defining the dynamics of perfectly elastic bodies in terms of two constitutive conditions on the stored energy function, the authors prove existence of stable equilibrium weak deformations for mixed boundary value problems, which moreover satisfy equilibrium and conservation equations.