Solutions to Eshelby’s problems of non-elliptical thermal inclusions and cylindrical elastic inclusions of non-elliptical cross section

Abstract

Eshelby’s inclusion problem is solved for non-elliptical inclusions in the context of two-dimensional thermal conduction and for cylindrical inclusions of non-elliptical cross section within the framework of generalized plane elasticity. First, we consider a two-dimensional infinite isotropic or anisotropic homogeneous medium with a non-elliptical inclusion subjected to a prescribed uniform heat flux-free temperature gradient. Eshelby’s conduction tensor field and its area average are first expressed compactly in terms of two boundary integrals avoiding the usual singularity and then specified analytically for arbitrary polygonal inclusions and for inclusions characterized by the finite Laurent series. Next, we are interested in a three-dimensional infinite isotropic or transversely isotropic homogeneous medium with a cylindrical inclusion of a non-elliptical cross section that undergoes uniform generalized plane eigenstrains. The solution to this problem is obtained by decomposing a generalized plane eigenstrain tensor into a plane strain part and an anti-plane strain part, exploiting the mathematical similarity between two-dimensional thermal conduction and anti-plane elasticity, and combining the relevant results of Zou et al. (Zou et al. 2010 J. Mech. Phys. Solids 58 , 346–372. ( doi:10.1016/j.jmps.2009.11.008 )) with those derived in the present work for Eshelby’s conduction tensor field and its area average.