THERMAL STRESS-FOCUSING EFFECT IN A TRANSVERSELY ISOTROPIC SPHERICAL INCLUSION EMBEDDED IN AN ISOTROPIC INFINITE ELASTIC MEDIUM

Abstract

When an isotropic infinite elastic medium with a transversely isotropic spherical inclusion is suddenly subjected to a uniform temperature rise, stress waves occur at the interface of spherical inclusion at the moment thermal impact is applied. The stress wave in a transversely isotropic inclusion proceeds radially inward to the center of the inclusion. The wave may accumulate at the center and cause very large stress magnitudes even though the initial thermal stress should be relatively small. This phenomenon is called the stress-focusing effect. The stress wave in an infinite elastic medium proceeds radially to infinity. This paper analyzes, in an exact manner, the effects of these waves using the ray integrals. The results give a clear indication of the mechanism of the thermal stress-focusing effect in a transversely isotropic inclusion embedded in the isotropic infinite elastic medium.