Universal deformation

In linear elasticity, universal displacements for a given symmetry class are those displacements that can be maintained by only applying boundary tractions (no body forces) and for arbitrary elastic constants in the symmetry class. In a previous work, we showed that  the larger the symmetry group, the larger the space of universal displacements. Here, we generalize these ideas to the case of anelasticity. In linear anelasticity, the total strain is additively decomposed into elastic strain and anelastic strain, often referred to as an eigenstrain.

Universal displacements are those displacements that can be maintained, in the absence of body forces, by applying only boundary tractions  for any material in a given class of materials. Therefore, equilibrium equations must be satisfied for arbitrary elastic moduli for a given anisotropy class. These conditions can be expressed as a set of partial differential equations for the displacement field that we call universality constraints.

In nonlinear elasticity, universal deformations are the deformations that exist for arbitrary strain-energy density functions and suitable tractions at the boundaries. Here, we discuss the equivalent problem for linear elasticity. We characterize the universal displacements of  linear elasticity: those displacement fields that can be maintained by applying boundary tractions in the absence of body forces for any linear elastic solid in a given anisotropy class.

The elastic Ericksen's problem consists of finding deformations in isotropic hyperelastic solids that can be maintained for arbitrary strain-energy density functions.  In the compressible case, Ericksen showed that only homogeneous deformations are possible. Here, we solve the anelastic version of the same problem, that is we determine both the deformations and the eigenstrains such that a solution to the anelastic problem exists for arbitrary strain-energy density functions. Anelasticity is described by finite eigenstrains.