FIRST PRINCIPLES DERIVATION OF A STRESS FUNCTION FOR AXIALLY SYMMETRIC ELASTICITY PROBLEMS, AND APPLICATION TO BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM

Abstract

In this work, a stress function is derived from first principles to describe the behaviour of three dimensional axially symmetric elasticity problems involving linear elastic, isotropic homogeneous materials. In the process, the fifteen governing partial differential equations of linear isotropic elasticity were reduced to the solution of the biharmonic problem involving the stress function. thus simplifying the solution process. The stress function derived was found to be identical with the Love stress function. The stress function was then applied to solve the axially symmetric problem of finding the stress fields, strain fields and displacement fields in the semi-infinite linear elastic, isotropic homogeneous medium subject to a point load P acting at the origin of coordinates also called the Boussinesq problem. The results obtained in this study for the stresses and displacements were exactly identical with those from literature, as obtained by Boussinesq.http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.15