Airy stress function

Definition

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The Airy stress function ( ):

  • Scalar potential function that can be used to find the stress.
  • Satisfies equilibrium in the absence of body forces.
  • Only for two-dimensional problems (plane stress/plane strain).


Airy stress function in rectangular Cartesian coordinates

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If the coordinate basis is rectangular Cartesian   with coordinates denoted by   then the Airy stress function   is related to the components of the Cauchy stress tensor   by

 

Alternatively, if we write the basis as   and the coordinates as  , then the Cauchy stress components are related to the Airy stress function by

 

Airy stress function in polar coordinates

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In polar basis   with co-ordinates  , the Airy stress function is related to the components of the Cauchy stress via

 

Something to think about ...

Do you think the Airy stress function can be extended to three dimensions?

Stress equation of compatibility in 2-D

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In the absence of body forces,

 

or,

 
  • Note that the stress field is independent of material properties in the absence of body forces (or homogeneous body forces).
  • Therefore, the plane strain and plane stress solutions are the same if the boundary conditions are expressed as traction BCS.

In terms of the Airy stress function

 

or,

 

or,

 
  • The stress function   is biharmonic.
  • Any polynomial in   and   of degree less than four is biharmonic.
  • Stress fields that are derived from an Airy stress function which satisfies the biharmonic equation will satisfy equilibrium and correspond to compatible strain fields.

Some biharmonic Airy stress functions

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In cylindrical co-ordinates, some biharmonic functions that may be used as Airy stress functions are

 

where

 

Displacements in terms of scalar potentials

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If the body force is negligible, then the displacements components in 2-D can be expressed as

 

where,

 

and   is a scalar displacement potential function that satisfies the conditions

 

To prove the above, you have to use the plane strain/stress constitutive relations

 

Note also that the plane stress/strain compatibility equations can be written as

 
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Introduction to Elasticity