STRESS-CORROSION CRACKING OF AN ELASTIC PLATE

Using methods of reversible and irreversible thermodynamics we explore a stress driven corrosion of elastic plate, the substance of which sh ows an ability to mass rearrangement. It is demonstrated that the plat e-like approach considerably simplifies theoretical analysis of the st ress driven rearrangement instability as compared with a more general analysis based on three-dimensional (3D) elasticity theory. Actually, a plate-like approach changes the type of the nonlinearity in the prob lem leading to a system of nonlinear partial differential equations (P DE) within a fixed domain of independent variables whereas the 3D appr oach is based on the equations of linear elasticity within an unknown (variable) domain. Only one mechanism of rearrangement-surface diffusi on-is taken into account. We also limit ourselves with the simplest mo del of the plate ignoring the bending energy and the out-of-plane comp onent of the displacements. (C) 1998 Acta Metallurgica Inc.