INHOMOGENEOUS DEFORMATIONS IN FINITE THERMO-ELASTICITY

First, we study the inhomogeneous extension or compression of non-line arly elastic materials within the context of finite thermoelasticity. We consider a generalization of the classical neo-Hookean model in whi ch the shear modulus is allowed to depend on the temperature. This is an extension of the analysis of Rajagopal and Wineman ([23] int. J. En gng Sci. 23, 217 (1985)) on the isothermal inhomogeneous uniaxial exte nsion of a slab of neo-Hookean or Mooney-Rivlin material, for which th ey were able to find explicit exact solutions. Permitting the shear mo dulus to depend on temperature allows ''boundary layer'' type of solut ions, in that the deformation is inhomogeneous near the boundary and n early homogeneous away from the boundary. It is found that the strains within the ''boundary layer'' are much higher than in the far field, which might justify calling these layers, regions of localized strain. Next, we study, within the context of finite thermoelasticity, the ra dial expansion and axial shearing of a hollow circular cylinder, an ex tension of the recent study of Haughton ([20] Int. J. Engng Sci. 30, 1 027 (1992)) wherein he found ''boundary layer'' type solutions even in the isothermal case. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd