A circular inclusion in a finite domain II. The Neumann-Eshelby problem

Summary

This is the second paper in a series concerned with the precise characterization of the elastic fields due to inclusions embedded in a finite elastic medium. In this part, an exact and closed form solution is obtained for the elastic fields of a circular inclusion embedded in a finite circular representative volume element (RVE), which is subjected to the traction (Neumann) boundary condition. The disturbance strain field due to the presence of an inclusion is related to the uniform eigenstrain field inside the inclusion by the so-called Neumann-Eshelby tensor. Remarkably, an elementary, closed form expression for the Neumann-Eshelby tensor of a circular RVE is obtained in terms of the volume fraction of the inclusion. The newly derived Neumann-Eshelby tensor is complementary to the Dirichlet-Eshelby tensor obtained in the first part of this work. Applications of the Neumann-Eshelby tensor are discussed briefly.