Elastic interaction of spherical nanoinhomogeneities with Gurtin–Murdoch type interfaces

A complete solution has been obtained for the problem of multiple interacting spherical inhomogeneities with a Gurtin–Murdoch interface model that includes both surface tension and surface stiffness effects. For this purpose, a vectorial spherical harmonics-based analytical technique is developed. This technique enables solution of a wide class of elasticity problems in domains with spherical boundaries/interfaces and makes fulfilling the vectorial boundary or interface conditions a routine procedure. A general displacement solution of the single-inhomogeneity problem is sought in a form of a series of the vectorial solutions of the Lame equation. This solution is valid for any non-uniform far-field load and it has a closed form for polynomial loads. The superposition principle and re-expansion formulas for the vectorial solutions of the Lame equation extend this theory to problems involving multiple inhomogeneities. The developed semi-analytical technique precisely accounts for the interactions between the nanoinhomogeneities and constitutes an efficient computational tool for modeling nanocomposites. Numerical results demonstrate the accuracy and numerical efficiency of the approach and show the nature and extent to which the elastic interactions between the nanoinhomogeneities with interface stress affect the elastic fields around them.

► Interacting spherical nanoinhomogeneities with Gurtin–Murdoch interface are studied.
► The vector spherical harmonics-based analytical technique of solution is developed.
► The technique precisely accounts for the interactions between the inhomogeneities.
► Numerical results demonstrate an accuracy and numerical efficiency of the approach.
► Interface stress greatly affects the elastic fields around the nanoinhomogeneities.