Strain energy spectral density and information content of materials deformation

Abstract

A broader range of analytical tools can enhance understanding of the unusual mechanical properties of metamaterials and other advanced material systems. Here, we discuss a mechanics analogue of the Parseval's energy theorem that leads to a density of the strain energy in the reciprocal space. It reflects the ways for an elastic medium to translate static deformation patterns between two points in space. A normalized spectral density also provides an information entropy of deformation at those points. Both differential and discrete (numerical) entropies of the Shannon's type are discussed. Spectral entropy is a basic measure of information available in the material interior about surface loads, or a measure of disorder introduced into elastic medium by the deformation. An exact analytical entropy function is derived for an isotropic plane solid under Gauss-distributed and point loads. Approaches to numerical calculation of spectral entropy in computational solid mechanics are also discussed. Energy spectral density and spectral entropy of an elastic continuum is shown to translate, logically, in agreement with the Saint-Venant's principle. However, it also becomes clear that microstructured media may demonstrate anomalous pathways of evolution of the strain energy spectrum, enabling interesting transformation mechanics studies of engineered material systems.