Lecture Note1

Strain Tensor
AE51003/AE61009: Applied Elasticity and Plasticity

Prasun Jana
Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering
IIT Kharagpur

1 Deformation gradient and strain tensor

1.1 Motion
Let X be the position vector of a material point P at time t0 and x be the position vector
at time t of the same particle (material point) P which was at X at t = t0 . See Fig. 1.
Material and spatial descriptions: The so-called material (or Lagrangian) description
is a characterization of the motion (or any other quantity ) with respect to the material
coordinates (X1 , X2 , X3 ) and time t, given by

φ = φ(X, t) | x = χ(X, t)

In the material description attention is paid to a particle, and we observe what happens to
the particle as it moves.
The so called spatial (or Eulerian) description is a characterization of the motion (or any
other quantity) with respect to the spatial coordinates (x1 , x2 , x3 ) and time t, given by

φ = φ(x, t) | X = χ−1 (x, t)

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This lecture note should be used for reading purposes only. Many texts of this note may not be original;
are taken directly from some reference materials.

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Figure 1: Configuration and motion of a continuum body.

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In the spatial description attention is paid to a point in space, and we study what happens
at the point as time changes.

Note: In fluid mechanics we quite often work in the Eulerian description in which we refer
all relevant quantities to the position in space at time t. The configuration is known, but
the material coordinates is not known.
However, in solid mechanics we generally prefer the Lagrangian description. The config-
uration changes but the material coordinates is known.

1.2 Displacement field

Material description: The vector field

U (X, t) = x(X, t) − X

represents the displacement field of a typical particle and relates its position X in the un-
deformed configuration to its position x in the deformed configuration at time t. See Fig.
2. The displacement field U is a function of the referential position X and time t, which
characterizes the material description (or Lagrangian form) of the displacement field.
Spatial description: The displacement field in the spacial description (Eulerian form),
denoted by u, is a function of the current position x and time t. We write

u(x, t) = x − X(x, t).

Note that U and u have the same values. They represent functions of different arguments
only.
Example: Suppose that the motion of the continuous body is described by a mapping
x = χ(X, t)
= (X1 + AtX2 )ê1 + (X2 − AtX1 )ê2 + X3 ê3
Find the displacement field U (X, t) and u(x, t).

Solution:
Material description →

U (X, t = x(X, t) − X
= (X1 + AtX2 )ê1 + (X2 − AtX1 )ê2 + X3 ê3 − (X1 ê1 + X2 ê2 + X3 ê3 )
= AtX2 ê1 − AtX1 ê2

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 Figure 2: Displacement field of a typical particle.

Spatial description→
u(x, t) = x − X(x, t)

The component form of x = χ(X, t)

x1 = X1 + AtX2
x2 = X2 − AtX1
x 3 = X3

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 From here we need to find X = χ−1 (x, t). We see that,

X3 = x3
X2 = x2 + AtX1
Then,
x1 = X1 + At(x2 + AtX1 )
= X1 + Atx2 + A2 t2 X1
(x1 − Atx2 ) = (1 + A2 t2 )X1
x1 − Atx2
X1 =
1 + A2 t2
Thus,
x1 − Atx2
X2 = x2 + At ×
1 + A2 t2
x2 + Atx1
=
1 + A2 t2
Therefore,

u(x, t) = x − X(x, t)
x1 − Atx2 x2 + Atx1
= (x1 ê1 + x2 ê2 + x3 ê3 ) − ê1 − ê2 − x3 ê3
1+A t2 2 1 + A2 t2
At(x2 + Atx1 ) At(x1 − Atx2 )
= ê1 − ê2
1+A t 2 2 1 + A2 t2

1.3 Deformation gradient

The relationship of a material line dX before deformation to the line dx after deformation
(see Fig. 3) is provided by the deformation gradient tensor F .
Mathematically we write,

x1 = x1 (X1 , X2 , X3 )
x2 = x2 (X1 , X2 , X3 )
x3 = x3 (X1 , X2 , X3 )
dx1 = (∂x1 /∂X1 )dX1 + (∂x1 /∂X2 )dX2 + (∂x1 /∂X3 )dX3
dx2 = (∂x2 /∂X1 )dX1 + (∂x2 /∂X2 )dX2 + (∂x2 /∂X3 )dX3
dx3 = (∂x3 /∂X1 )dX1 + (∂x3 /∂X2 )dX2 + (∂x3 /∂X3 )dX3

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 Figure 3: Deformation of line elements in undeformed and deformed configuration.

   
dx1 ∂x1 /∂X1 ∂x1 /∂X2 ∂x1 /∂X3 dX1
dx2  = ∂x2 /∂X1 ∂x2 /∂X2 ∂x2 /∂X3  dX2 
    

dx3 ∂x3 /∂X1 ∂x3 /∂X2 ∂x3 /∂X3 dX3

{dx} = [F ]{dX}
dx = F dX
This relation is a linear transformation which generate a vector dx by the action of the
second-order deformation gradient tensor F on the vector dX.
Deformation gradient tensor from displacements;

U (X, t) = x(X, t) − X

x(X, t) = X + U (X, t)

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 ∂x(X, t)
F (X, t) =
∂X
∂(X + U (X, t))
=
∂X
∂U (X, t)
=I+
∂X
F = I + ∇U

Here, ∇U is called displacement gradient tensor.

 
∂U1 /∂X1 ∂U1 /∂X2 ∂U1 /∂X3
∇U = ∂U2 /∂X1 ∂U2 /∂X2 ∂U2 /∂X3 
 

∂U3 /∂X1 ∂U3 /∂X2 ∂U3 /∂X3

1.4 Green strain tensor

The distance between PQ is given by

(dS)2 = dX · dX = dXi · dXi = (dX1 )2 + (dX2 )2 + (dX3 )2

′ ′
The distance between P Q is given by

(ds)2 = dx · dx = dxi · dxi = (dx1 )2 + (dx2 )2 + (dx3 )2

The change in the squared lengths that occurs as a body deforms from the reference config-
uration to the current configuration can be expressed relative to the original length as

(ds)2 − (dS)2 = dx · dx − dX · dX
= [dx]T [dx] − [dX]T [dX]
= [[F ][dX]]T [F ][dX] − [dX]T [dX]
= [dX]T [F ]T [F ][dX] − [dX]T [dX]
= [dX]T ([F ]T [F ] − I)[dX]
= 2[dX]T [E][dX]
with,
1
E = (F T F − I)
2
1
= [(I + ∇U)T (I + ∇U) − I]
2
1
= [∇U + ∇U T + (∇U)T · (∇U)]
2
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Here, E is a symmetric second-order tensor called the Green-st.venant strain tensor, or
simply the Green strain tensor.
E is a non-linear function of the displacement gradient because of the term (∇U)T ·(∇U).
In index notation,
1 ∂Ui ∂Uj ∂Uk ∂Uk
Eij = ( + + ).
2 ∂Xj ∂Xi ∂Xi ∂Xj

In expanded form,
∂U1 1 ∂U1 2 ∂U2 2 ∂U3 2
E11 = + [( ) +)( ) +( )]
∂X1 2 ∂X1 ∂X1 ∂X1
∂U2 1 ∂U1 2 ∂U2 2 ∂U3 2
E22 = + [( ) +)( ) +( )]
∂X2 2 ∂X2 ∂X2 ∂X2
∂U3 1 ∂U1 2 ∂U2 2 ∂U3 2
E33 = + [( ) +)( ) +( )]
∂X3 2 ∂X3 ∂X3 ∂X3
1 ∂U1 ∂U2 ∂U1 ∂U1 ∂U2 ∂U2 ∂U3 ∂U3
E12 = ( + + + + )
2 ∂X2 ∂X1 ∂X1 ∂X2 ∂X1 ∂X2 ∂X1 ∂X2
1 ∂U1 ∂U3 ∂U1 ∂U1 ∂U2 ∂U2 ∂U3 ∂U3
E13 = ( + + + + )
2 ∂X3 ∂X1 ∂X1 ∂X3 ∂X1 ∂X3 ∂X1 ∂X3
1 ∂U2 ∂U3 ∂U1 ∂U1 ∂U2 ∂U2 ∂U3 ∂U3
E23 = ( + + + + )
2 ∂X3 ∂X2 ∂X2 ∂X3 ∂X2 ∂X3 ∂X2 ∂X3
The components E11 , E22 , and E33 are called normal strains and E12 , E23 , and E13 are called
shear strains.

1.5 Infinitesimal strain tensor

When all the displacements gradients are small (or infinitesimal), that is |∇U| << 1, we
can neglect the non-linear terms in the definition of Green strain tensor. In this case, no
distinction is made between the material coordinates X and the spatial coordinates x because
the changes in the geometry are very small. The infinitesimal strain tensor is denoted by ε
and is defined by
1
ε = [∇U + (∇U)T ]
2
In component form,
1 ∂Ui ∂Uj 1 ∂ui ∂uj
εij = ( + )= ( + )
2 ∂Xj ∂Xi 2 ∂xj ∂xi
Note: xi and Xi are interchangeable for the infinitesimal strains)

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And, in expanded form
∂u1 ∂u2 ∂u3
ε11 = , ε22 = , ε33 =
∂x1 ∂x2 ∂x3
1 ∂u1 ∂u2 1 ∂u1 ∂u3 1 ∂u2 ∂u3
ε12 = ( + ), ε13 = ( + ), ε23 = ( + )
2 ∂x2 ∂x1 2 ∂x3 ∂x1 2 ∂x3 ∂x2
The strain components ε11 , ε22 , and ε33 are the infinitesimal normal strains and ε12 , ε13 ,
and ε23 are the infinitesimal shear strains.
The shear strains γ12 = 2ε12 , γ13 = 2ε13 , and γ23 = 2ε23 are called the engineering shear
strains.

1.6 Limitations of small strain equations

We know that for small strains;
1
ε = (∇U + (∇U)T )
2
1
= (F + F T ) − I as F = ∇U + I
2
The rotation example discussed below demonstrates how rigid body rotations can pollute
strain calculations based on infinitesimal strain definitions. Take the 2D rigid body rotation
example
x1 = X1 cos θ − X2 sin θ
x2 = X1 sin θ − X2 cos θ
" #
cos θ − sin θ
F =
sin θ cos θ
Resulting small strain tensor is
" #
1 cos θ − 1 0
ε = [F + F T ] − I =
2 0 cos θ − 1
So the result is negative normal strains even though the object has not deformed at all!
The error is zero at 0o , but grows with rotation angle. This is clearly undesirable and
demonstrates the problem with so-called small strain equations. The problem is rotations,
not the strains themselves.
Green strain tensor for this case:
1
E = [F T F − I]
2
1
= [I − I] = O,
2
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As F T F = I for this example of rigid body rotation. Therefore, zero strains for rigid-body
rotations when we consider Green strain tensor.

1.7 Few other topics in strain tensor

As strain is also a second-order tensor, the concepts of strain transformation, principal
strains, and spherical and deviatoric strains remain same to that of the stress tensor. For
brevity, these topics are not discussed here.

1.8 Strain Compatibility

Strain-displacement relation, for small strains, is expressed as
1
εij = (ui,j + uj,i );
2
which represents six equations for the six strain components in terms of three displacements.

If we specify continuous, single valued displacements u, v, w (or u1 , u2, u3 ), then through

differentiation the resulting strain field will be equally well behaved. However, the converse is
not necessarily true; given the six strain components, integration of the strain-displacement
relations does not necessarily produce continuous, single-valued displacements. This should
not be totally surprising since we are trying to solve six equations for only three unknown
displacements. In order to ensure continuous, single-valued displacements, the strain must
satisfy additional relations called integrability or compatibility equations.
The process to develop these equations is based on eliminating the displacements from
the strain-displacement relations.
Six compatibility equations:
∂ 2 εx ∂ 2 εy ∂ 2 εxy
+ = 2
∂y 2 ∂x2 ∂x∂y
2 2
∂ εy ∂ εz ∂ 2 εyz
+ = 2
∂z 2 ∂y 2 ∂y∂z
2 2
∂ εz ∂ εx ∂ 2 εzx
+ = 2
∂x2 ∂z 2 ∂z∂x

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 ∂ 2 εx ∂ ∂εyz ∂εzx ∂εxy
= (− + + )
∂y∂z ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂z
∂ 2 εy ∂ ∂εzx ∂εxy ∂εyz
= (− + + )
∂z∂x ∂y ∂y ∂z ∂x
∂ 2 εz ∂ ∂εxy ∂εyz ∂εzx
= (− + + )
∂x∂y ∂z ∂z ∂x ∂y

1.9 Exercises
1. A continuum motion is expressed by

x1 = X1 , x2 = et (X2 + X3 )/2 + e−t (X2 − X3 )/2, x3 = et (X2 + X3 )/2 − e−t (X2 − X3 )/2.

Determine the velocity and acceleration components in both their material and spatial
forms.

2. A velocity field is described by v1 = x1 /(1 + t), v2 = 2x2 /(1 + t), and v3 = 3x3 /(1 + t).
Determine the acceleration components for this motion.

3. A velocity field is specified by the vector

v = x21 tê1 + x2 t2 ê2 + x1 x3 tê3 .

Determine the velocity and acceleration of the particle at P(1,3,2) at t = 1.

4. Consider the following continuum motion:

xi = X1 δi1 + (X2 + ktX3 )δi2 + X3 δi3

and the spatial temperature field

T = 2x1 + x2 − x3 + 1.

(a) Obtain the Lagrangian description of the temperature field.

(b) Obtain the velocity components in both Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions.
(c) Obtain the rate of change of T (i.e. the material time derivative of T ) of a particle
that in the current configuration is located at point (1,1,1).
(d) Obtain the local rate of change of T at the spatial point (1,3,2).

5. Given the following motions in rectangular coordinates:

x1 = X1 + αX12 t, x2 = X2 − k(X2 + X3 )t, x3 = X3 + k(X2 − X3 )t.

Obtain the deformation gradient F at t = 0 and at t = 1/k.

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6. The motion of the continuum x = χ(X, t), is given by the following equations:

x1 = X1 + 2X3
x2 = X2 − 2X3
x3 = X3 − 2X1 + 2X2

Obtain the Green strain tensor (E) and the infinitesimal strain tensor (ε).

7. For the simple shear deformation: x1 = X1 + kX2 , x2 = X2 , and x3 = X3 , calculate

both the Green strain tensor E and the infinitesimal strain tensor ε.

8. Show that the following strain field εxx = Ay 3, εyy = Ax3 , εxy = Bxy(x + y), εzz =
εxz = εyz = 0 gives continuous, singlevalued displacements in a simply connected region
only if the constants are related by A = 2B/3.

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