Conservation properties for plane deformations of isotropic and anisotropic linearly elastic strips

Abstract

Plane deformations of a rectangular strip, composed of an homogeneous fully anisotropic linearly elastic material, are considered. The strip is in equilibrium under the action of end loads, with the lateral sides traction-free. Two conservation properties for certain cross-sectional stress measures are established, generalizing previously known results for the isotropic case. It is noteworthy that in the first of these conservation laws only one of the off-axis elastic constants appears explicitly while in the second only the opposite off-axis constant appears explicitly. Such conservation properties are useful in assessing the influence of material anisotropy on Saint-Venant's principle, as well as in establishing convexity properties for cross-sectional stress measures. In particular, it is anticipated that the results should be useful in determining the extent of edge effects in the off-axis testing of anisotropic and composite materials.