On the existence of rotationally symmetric solution of a constrained minimization problem of elasticity (Q2071274)

In this paper the authors consider the equilibrium problem, with no body force, of a cylindrically orthotropic disk subject to a prescribed displacement along its boundary. As the classic theory of elasticity allows for solutions with material overlapping, which is not physical, one way to prevent this anomalous behavior is to consider the minimization of the total potential energy of classical linear elasticity subject to the local injectivity constraint. In this context bifurcation is expected to occur from a radially symmetric solution to a secondary one. The authors present analytical and computational results indicating that this secondary solution is rotationally symmetric. The problem of minimization of the total potential energy of classical linear elasticity is defined by \begin{align*} \min_{ u\in A_\varepsilon } \mathcal{E}(u),\qquad \mathcal{E}(u):= \frac{1}{2}\int_{ \mathcal{B} } \mathbf{T} \cdot \mathbf{E}d X -\int_{ \mathcal{B} } \mathbf{b} \cdot \mathbf{u}d X- \int_{ \partial_2\mathcal{B} } \bar{ \mathbf{t} } \cdot \mathbf{u}d X. \end{align*} Here \(\mathcal{B}\subset\mathbb{R}^2\) is the undistorted natural reference configuration of a linearly elastic solid, \(\mathbf{u}\) is the displacement of \(X\), \(\bar{ \mathbf{t} }\) is a prescribed dead load traction field, and the stress tensor \(\mathbf{T}\) is related to \(\mathbf{E}\) by the generalized Hooke's law \[\mathbf{T} = \mathbb{C}[\mathbf{E}],\] with \(\mathbb{C}\) being the stress tensor and \(\mathbf{E}\) being the infinitesimal strain tensor defined by \[\mathbf{E} := \frac{1}{2} ( \nabla u+ \nabla u^T ). \] Finally, \[ A_\varepsilon :=\{ u\in H^1( \mathcal{B} )\longrightarrow \mathbb{R}^2: \text{det}(1+\nabla u)\ge \varepsilon>0, u=\tilde{u} \text{ on } \partial_1\mathcal{B} \} \] is the set of kinematically admissible displacements. The authors' approach mainly consists of three steps: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] First, assuming that the solution is rotationally symmetric, they solve the Euler-Lagrange equations of the corresponding minimization problem in the region where the local injectivity constraint is not active, and obtain a solution that depends on constants of integration. In the region where the constraint is active, they then find a nonlinear relation between the radial and tangential displacements, which contains a constant of integration that is also determined numerically. \item[2.] Second, still assuming rotational symmetry, the authors use an interior penalty formulation together with a standard finite element method to obtain sequences of numerical solutions that converge to a limit function that is in very good agreement with analytical results in the non active region. \item[3.] Finally, the authors investigate numerically the influence of both the shear modulus and the boundary condition on the existence of the rotationally symmetric solution. For a given mesh, there are thresholds outside which this solution is not possible. \end{itemize}