Uniform strain field inside a non-circular inhomogeneity with homogeneously imperfect interface in anisotropic anti-plane shear

Abstract

We re-examine the conclusion established earlier in the literature that in the presence of a homogeneously imperfect interface, the circular inhomogeneity is the only shape of inhomogeneity which can achieve a uniform internal strain field in an isotropic or anisotropic material subjected to anti-plane shear. We show that under certain conditions, it is indeed possible to design such non-circular inhomogeneities despite the limitation of a homogeneously imperfect interface. Our method proceeds by prescribing a uniform strain field inside a non-circular inhomogeneity via perturbations of the uniform strain field inside the analogous circular inhomogeneity and then subsequently identifying the corresponding (non-circular) shape via the use of a conformal mapping whose unknown coefficients are determined from a system of nonlinear equations. We illustrate our results with several examples. We note also that, for a given size of inhomogeneity, the minimum value of the interface parameter required to guarantee the desired uniform internal strain increases as the elastic constants of the inclusion approach those of the matrix. Finally, we discuss in detail the relationship between the curvature of the interface and the displacement jump across the interface in the design of such inhomogeneities.