On ellipticity of static equations of strain gradient elasticity and infinitesimal stability

Abstract

Within the framework of strain gradient elasticity under finite deformations we formulate the strong ellipticity conditions of equilibrium equations. Within the model a strain energy density is a function of the first and second deformation gradients. Ellipticity involves certain constraints on the tangent elastic moduli. It is also closely related to infinitesimal stability which is defined as the positive definiteness of the second variation of the potential energy functional. Here we consider the first boundary-value problem, that is with Dirichlettype boundary conditions. For one-dimensional deformations we determine necessary and sufficient conditions of infinitesimal instability. The latter constitute two inequalities for elastic moduli.