Inclusions in a finite elastic body

Within the framework of 2D or 3D linear elasticity, a general approach based on the superposition principle is proposed to study the problem of a finite elastic body with an arbitrarily shaped and located inclusion. The proposed approach consists in decomposing the initial inclusion problem into the problem of the inclusion embedded in the corresponding infinite body and the auxiliary problem of the finite body subjected to the appropriate boundary loading provided by solving the former problem. Thus, our approach renders it possible to circumvent the difficulty due to the unavailability of the relevant Green function, use various existing solutions for the problem of an inclusion inside an unbounded body and clearly makes appear the finite boundary effects. The general approach is applied and specified in the context of 2D isotropic elasticity. The complex potentials for the problem of an inclusion in an infinite body are given as two boundary integrals, and the boundary integral equation governing the complex potentials for the auxiliary problem is provided. In the important particular situation where a finite body with an arbitrarily shaped and located inclusion is circular, the exact explicit expressions for the complex potentials are derived, leading to those for the strain, stress and Eshelby’s tensor fields inside and outside the inclusion. These results are analytically detailed and numerically illustrated for the cases of a square inclusion placed concentrically, and a circular inclusion located eccentrically, inside a circular body.