Smoothness of linear laminates (Q1822553)

The authors deal with a number of questions related to the smoothness of solution for the equilibrium equations of linear elastic laminates within the concept of effective elastic moduli of composites. Four theorems together with three lemmas and one proposition are proved for the smoothness of displacements in a bounded laminate region with smooth boundary. It is shown that the displacement field of laminates has a locally bounded gradient in the region and the size of displacement gradient may be estimated independently of the number of laminates under a smooth vector of loading. Also, a solution with a locally bounded gradient is shown to exist for the homogenized problem. Then, as an illustration of the results obtained, the case of small displacements from a natural state of a highly twinned elastic crystal is discussed and a brief example is provided. Due to the concept of effective elastic moduli adopted in the paper, the displacement field of laminates omits to account for the dynamic interactions at the interfaces of laminates. However, the paper is of particular value to researchers interested in theoretical aspects of static solutions for elastic laminates.