On the wrinkling of a free surface

Abstract

We consider an elastic half-space whose free surface is capable of supporting its own stress field. This stress is a linear function of surface strain and is related to the stress in the interior of the body by a nonclassical boundary condition. We study the wrinkling (buckling) of the surface and show that this type of behavior is possible whenever the surface has a compressive residual stress or a negative stress-strain modulus.