Interaction between diffusion and chemical stresses

The present work studies the interaction between chemical stresses and diffusion. A new relation between hydrostatic stress and concentration of solute atoms is established. For a solid free of action of body force, the Laplacian of the hydrostatic stress is proportional to the Laplacian of the concentration of solute atoms, that is, deviation of the hydrostatic stress from its local average is proportional to deviation of the local concentration of solute atoms. A general relationship among surface concentration of solute atoms, normal stress and surface deformation of a solid is then derived, in which the normal stress is dependent on the mean curvature of the undeformed surface and tangential components of the surface displacement. A closed-form solution of the steady state concentration of solute atoms in a thin plate is obtained. It turns out that linear distribution of solute atoms in the plate is non-existent due to the interaction between chemical stresses and diffusion.