ME 242: Homework 3

1. Problem 2.19 of Slaughter.

2. Starting from the definition of the divergence of a tensor S as

div(S) · a = div(ST a) − tr(∇a ST ),

derive an expression for div(S) in cylindrical coordinates.

3. Given a vector field u over a domain V enclosed by the surface S, recall the divergence theorem
Z Z
div u dV = u · n dS. (1)
V S

Derive the analogous version for tensors, namely, that

Z Z
div A dV = An dS,
V S

where A is a smooth tensor field. As a hint, apply the divergence theorem in eq. (1) to the vector field
AT b, where b is an arbitrary but constant vector.
4. In linear elasticity, the strain tensor is related to the displacement field u as
1
∇u + ∇uT ,


ε=
2
and for a homogeneous isotropic material, the stress is related to the strain as

σ = λ tr(ε) I + 2µ ε.

In the following, consider the special three-dimensional displacement field

x
u=b , where r = |x|, r ̸= 0
r3
and b ̸= 0 is a given constant.
Using a Cartesian system of coordinates:
(i) Show that ∇r = x/r.
(ii) Using (i), deduce that

I x⊗x
∇u = b − 3b 5 .
r3 r

(iii) Using (ii), compute the strain ε.

(iv) Using (iii), compute the stress σ and verify that
 
I 3x ⊗ x
σ = 2µb − .
r3 r5

(v) Finally, show that div σ = 0. In subsequent lectures, we will relate this condition to equilibrium of
a linearly elastic solid.