FINITE STRAIN ELASTOSTATICS WITH STIFFENING MATERIALS - A CONSTRAINEDMINIMIZATION MODEL

Finite strain elastostatics is expressed for general anisotropic, piec ewise linear stiffening materials, in the form of a constrained minimi zation problem. The corresponding boundary value problem statement is identified with the associated necessary conditions. Total strain is r epresented as a superposition of variationally independent constituent fields. Net stress-strain properties in the model are implicit in ter ms of the parameters that define the constituents. The model accommoda tes specification of load fields as functions of a process parameter.