An isoperimetric inequality for the torsional rigidity of imperfectly bonded fiber reinforced cylinders (Q1969324)

The author studies the Saint-Venant's torsion problem for elastic cylinders reinforced by cylindrical fibers. It is assumed that the cylinder cross-section is simply connected while each fiber cross-section may be simply or multiply connected. The fibers are imperfectly bonded to the surrounding material, where the imperfect bonds are characterized by the loss of displacement continuity at the matrix-fiber interface. The stiffness of matrix-fiber interface is given by a parameter which relates the tangential traction to the relative tangential displacement. Using variational method based on the stress function formulation, the author solves the problem of simultaneously finding the cylinder cross-section, fiber configuration, and cross-section of each fiber that yield the maximum torsional rigidity for given values of fiber and matrix areas. The main result is summarized in an isoperimetric inequality for torsional rigidity of a fiber-reinforced cylinder.