Uniform asymptotic solutions for lamellar inhomogeneities in plane elasticity

Elastic inclusions embedded in an infinitely extended isotropic solid are c onsidered. Uniform asymptotic solutions are obtained for a general class of inclusion shapes. Detailed forms of these solutions are given for elliptic and lemon-shaped inclusions. It is observed that, while for elliptic inclu sions the perturbation stresses at the inclusion's ends have the same order as the stresses at infinity, for a lemon-shaped inclusion they are an orde r-of-magnitude smaller. The solutions for rigid inclusions and cracks ape a lso given, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.