hf. J. Gigna Sci. Vol. 22. No. 3, pp. 319~.330, 1984 002th7225184 $3.00 + .

OO
Printed in Great Britain. Pergamon Press Ltd.

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR

ORTHOTROPIC MICROPOLAR ELASTICITY

SACHIO NAKAMURA, ROBERT BENEDICT and RODERIC LAKES

Division of Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City,
IA 52242, U.S.A.

Abstract-The total potential energy for a body composed of an anisotropic micropolar linear
elastic material is developed and used to formulate a displacement type finite element method of
analysis. As an example of this formulation triangular plane stress (and plane couple stress)
elements are used to analyze several problems. The program is verified by computing the stress
concentration around a hole in an isotropic micropolar material for which an exact analytical
solution exists. Several anisotropic material cases are presented which demonstrate the dependence
of the stress concentration factor on the micropolar material parameters.

1. INTRODUCTION
A MICROPOLAR elastic material solid differs from a classical elastic material in that each
point has extra rotational degrees of freedom independent of translation, and that the
material can transmit couple stress as well as the usual force stress. Micropolar theory [l]
is thought to apply to structured materials with a fibrous, lattice, or granular micro-
structure. Numerous boundary value problems have been solved in isotropic micropolar
elasticity theory. The analytical solution of such problems is more difficult than in the
classical case, but in most situations not abnormally so. Geometries which are appropriate
for engineering applications are often suthciently complex that analytical stress-analysis is
impracticable, even for classically elastic materials. In such cases finite element methods
or experimental methods may be used. The literature is, however, noticeably lacking in
finite element formulations for micropolar elasticity. As far as the authors know, the only
example is the paper by Oden et al. [2]. However, their formulation is based on constrained
couple stress theory [3,4] which is known[5] to be a special case of micropolar elasticity [ 11.
We anticipate the application of micropoIar elasticity to stress analysis problems of both
natural and artificial composites. In this article, a finite element method for orthotropic,
micropolar elastic materials is presented, with applications.

2. VARIATIONAL FORMULATION OF MICROPOLAR ELASTICITY

In this section we develop a principle of virtual work for micropolar elastic materials
and obtain a variational formulation of micropolar elasticity based on the total potential
energy.
Let the surface boundary of the solid, S, be S = S,, + 5’, where on 5’, the displacement
and microrotation are prescribed and on S, the surface traction and surface couples are
prescribed. Under the virtual displacement and virtual microrotation, the virtual work of
the external load may be written

swe= (Gi6ui + C$&) d Y + (7’$“+&,+ i%ff*‘&#+)

ds (2.1)
ss V s S,

in which Gi and Ci are the applied body force and body couple, respectively, q and Mi
are the surface force and surface couple tractions, respectively, and ui is the displacement
and (biis the microrotation for the d-direction. By taking into account the fact that 6ui and
&& vanish on S, and by using Cauchy’s formula and the divergence theorem, we get
I,

(2.2)
320 S. NAKAMURA et al.

We recall the laws of motion of Cauchy, given by Eringen[l] for micropolar materials as
eqns (17.17) and (17.18)

f/k,/+ P(fk - VA = 0 (2.3)

mlk,l + Ekmntm + P <jk - bk) = o (2.4)

in which t is the force stress, m is the couple stress, p is the density, &,,, is the permutation
symbol, Qis the local acceleration, 6 is the local angular acceleration, fk is the body force
and lk is the body couple.
For a static equilibrium state, the first and second terms of (2.2) vanish by viitue of
eqns (2.3) and (2.4), so (2.2) becomes

SW,= { (tj&Uij + mj&ij - $ktjkd&i} d V. (2.5)

By introducing the micropolar strain tensor of Eringen[l]

Eij = uj,i - t#$k (2.6)

eqn (2.5) becomes

SW,=
ss v (tj&ji + mj&Pij}d V

which is recognized as the negative of the internal virtual work. Denoting by 6 W, the
(2.7)

internal virtual work, the principle of virtual work for micropolar elastic materials in
unchecked systems is

swe+swi=o. (2.8)

In the following, we restrict our discussion to dissipation-free materials and conser-

vative loads. That is, we assume the existence of a positive definite strain energy density
U,,(cji,&) such that

au0 au3
iii = K mii= J& (2.9)

are true and we define the load potential P as

ga -
JJ v (GNU,+ C&i> d V - J
St
{ T$“)Ui
+ @“‘$i} ds. (2.10)

Then eqn (2.7) becomes

(2.11)

and the virtual work of the external loads may be expressed in terms of the variation of
the load potential as

SW,= --SK (2.12)

By using the previous relation we can express the necessary and sufficient conditions for
equilibrium of an unchecked system as

cw+SP=O. (2.13)
 Finite element method for orthotropic micropolar elasticity 321

We define the total potential energy

rI=u+F. (2.14)

Now, eqn (2.13) can be expressed as

srI=ol (2.15)

For a linear constitutive relation of the form

(2.16)

eqn (2.11) becomes

6U= y (A~cs,S~~i + B~~,,“GCbij) d V. (2.17)

ss

Therefore, the strain energy for a micropolar elastic material is

(2.18)

Equation (2.13) is the variation form of micropolar elasticity in which strain energy and
the potential of the external load are given by eqns (2.18) and (2.10) respectively.

3. DISPLACEMENT FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION OF MICROPOLAR

ELASTICITY
In the previous section, we derived the total potential energy as

C&)d V - (Tl”u, + Ml”c#+)dS. (3.1)

f Sl

We may subdivide the entire domain V of micropolar material as

v=iiv,k=l

and introduce appropriate shape functions N, and Nd such that

u(x) = Nu(x)ue #(X) = N4(x)~e, for all x in vk (3.2)

in which u(x) and #(x) are field variable vectors of displa~ment and microrotation in
the finite element vk and up and 4’ are nodal field variable vectors corresponding to them.
Now let us express the micropolar strains of eqn (2.6) as

6 = h(x) + Mc$ (x) (3.3)

where L is a differential operator and A4 is a permutation matrix. We obtain from (3.2),

(3.4)

Similar for (pij

V#J= V(N,&=) = [O,VN,] (3.5)

322 S. NAKAMU~ et al.

Let us express the constitutive eqn (2.16) as

I --l&E
m = D,V++ (3.6)
Then by eqns (3.4) and (3.5)
t = D,,B,U’
m = D,B,t?. (3.7)
Therefore the total potential energy (3.1) corresponding to element k now becomes

where
ss vk
(B~D*B~ + Bf& B,) d VU’ - (Ei’vi- F$)TU”

F$=
s srk
[t’,““),
‘N M~“N+,]dS .

Taking the first variation of eqn (3.8) with respect to the nodal field variable vector and
(3.9)

using eqn (2.15), yields the discretized equilibrium equation

k”U’ = F’, + F; (3.10)

in which

k’ = (B,TD&, + B;D,B,) dV (3.11)

is the element stiffness matrix for micropolar elasticity. The classical force-stress form[6]
may be recovered by allowing the second term to vanish.

4. PLANE STRESS FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

In plane stress micropolar elasticity, each material point has three degrees of freedom:
displacement in the X, and X, directions and microrotation about the X, axis, denoted here
by (u,, u2, &). Therefore, a triangular element with linear displacement shape function has
9 nodal values

corresponding to 3 nodes. By using a linear interpolation for three field variables, we get

&(4 Y) 1 Ni Nj Nrn
&Ax, Y) = 2 Ni Nj N,,, U” (4.1)
i
#3(X?Y) N, 8 NwzI

in which

A = det 1 xl Y,
1 &I Ym
Nt = (x/Y, - -%YJ + b’j - YnJX f C-G- YJY

Nj = (XmYi - XiJ’J + (Y, - .tJX + (Xi - X,)Y

- J$X
Nm = (XiYj - XjYi) + (_SV< + (Xj - XJ_Y*
 Finite element method for orthotropic micropolar elasticity 323

By eqns (2.6) and (4.1), we have the following strain-displacement matrix

611 bi 0 0 bj 0 0 b, 0 0

622 1 0 ci 0 0 cj 0 0 cm 0
u
612 =d 0 bi - Ni 0 bj - Nj 0 b, - N,

E21 Ci O Ni cj 0 Nj c,,, 0 N,,,

~&(wJ)u’, (4.2)
in which
bi=yj-ym bj=y,-yi b,=yi-yj
ci=xm-xj cj=x,-x, cm=xj-x,
and

It can be shown, using symmetry arguments similar to those used in classical elasticity,
that for orthotropic plane stress micropolar elasticity we have nine independent elastic
constants. The constitutive equatio’ns may be written as follows.

(4.5)

Note the element stiffness matrix can be computed by using eqn (3.11) as

k’= (B;(x)L+,B&) + B:D,B,) dVP- k’, + k;

where D,- and D,-matrices are given in eqns (4.4) and (4.5). Therefore

biO 0 bj 0 0 b,O 0

k:=;
ss
V,
oq
0 b, -N,
Ci 0
0

Ni
0 cj
0
Cj
bj -Nj
0
0

Nj
0 c, 0
0 b,,, -N,,,
cm 0 Nm

bi 00 bj 00 b, 00
oc, 0 OCj 0 oc, 0
dV (4.16)
Ob, -N Obj -Nj Ob,,, -N,
1 ci ONi f Cj ONj 1 C, ON, (

hA 0 T
k’= I 0 bi0
I/ 0 40
// 0 bm
.//mllooc,1ooc,/oocJ
B:f(B$ 0 0 bf0 0 b,O 0 6, (4.17)
’ T&P 0 0 c.0 0 c.0 0 c

Here Ni, Nj and N, are functions of the coordinates.

324 S. NAKAMUR4 et al.

The element stiffness matrices are assembled into a global stiffness matrix in a
symmetric banded form with only the upper triangular part stored. Boundary conditions
of prescribed displacements and microrotations are imposed by modification of the
corresponding rows and columns of this global stiffness matrix. The stiffness matrix is then
decomposed using a Cholesky methodf7j. The solution for nodal displacements and
microrotations is then obtained by using forward and backward substitutions.

5. STRESS CONCENTRATION AROUND A HOLE: NUMERiCAL EXAMPLE

To illustrate and verify the finite element method, three problems were solved. These
were: (i) concentration of stress around a hole in a strip of isotropic micropolar elastic
material under tension, (ii) concentration of stress in a similar strip of anisotropic
micropolar elastic material which is orthotropic for force stress but isotropic for couple
stress, and (iii) orthotropic for both force stress and couple stress. Numerical results for
case (i) are compared with the analytical solution of Kaloni and Ariman[8], with a
corrected range of material constants given by Cowin[5]. The Kaloni and Ariman
analytical solution is for the stress concentration around a hole in an infinite plane domain
of isotropic micropolar material under tension in XI direction.
The constitutive equations for an isotropic micropolar solid are

f$lfiSij + @ * + Ic)E$+ p *Cji (5.1)

m, = @JPk,d~ + B4ij + Y4j,i* (5.2)

For the condition of plane stress, these may be written

111
t22
(5.3)
t12
f21

I /I
ml3 =
m23 ;
(5.4)

We define the following, after Cowin[5].

Characteristic length 1:12= y/2(21”* + K)

Coupling factor N:N2= fc/2(p* + K)

Poisson ratio v:v = 1/(2~ * + 21 + K).

For the numerical study of isotropic micropolar material, a strip 0.64 in.
(1.62 x 10e2 m) wide by 0.64 in (1.62 x lop2 m) long was considered. Figure 1 shows the
finite element mesh used for the analysis which corresponds to one quarter of the original
strip with a hole of 8.5 x 10m3in. (2.159 x low4 m) radius. Material properties used for the
isotropic case are listed in Table I. The characteristic length I was fixed at 8 x 1O-3in.
(2.032 x 10e4m) the Poisson ratio set equal to 0.3, and the hole size was varied. Results
for different values of N are displayed in Fig. 2 and Table 2. Agreement with the analytical
solution is excellent for small holes; for larger holes the stress deviations are attributed to
effects associated with the finite width of the strip used in the numerical study. To verify
this supposition, a classically elastic finite element program was used to analyze the stresses
in the same geometry as that used above. Results were identical to the results of the
micropolar program for N = 0. We conclude that the shift of stress concentration factor
above 3.0 is due to the finite width of the strip in both the classical and micropolar finite
element solutions.
 Finite element method for orthotropic micropolar elasticity 325

t--------- 0.32 inch ~4

Fig. 1. Finite element mesh for analysis.

Table 1. Material properties used for the analysis Iof isotropic mic #polar elast iciltY
N U* 8

0.00 1.000x103 (psi 6.666~10~ (psi_J 0.0 (Pq 1.707x108 (pound)

6.895~10~ (~,a 3) 4.596x106 (N/m ) 0.0 W/m ) 7.593~108 (N)

0.25 L.125x104 (psi 7.ooox103 (psiJ 1.00ox103 (psi3 1.920~10~ (pound) 0.0 (pound) 0.0 (pound)
7.757.107 (N/m 3) 4.826~10' (N/m ) 6.895~106 (N/m ) 8.541~10~ (N) (h') (N)

0.50 2.250~103
cPq 1.00ox103 (psi2 1.00ox103 CpsiJ 3.840x108 (pound) 0.0 (pound)
5.063x106 (N,. ) 6.895~10~ (N/m ) 6.695~106 w/m j 1.708~10~ (N) (N)

0.75 5.833~10~ (psi -1.111x102(pai 1.00ox103 (PSiJ 9.955x107 (paund) 0.0 (pound)
(N/~1)
4.022~106 -7.660x105 (N/m 3.) 6.895~10~ (Wm 1 4.428~10~ (N) (N)

0.90 1.759~10~ (psi -3.827~10~ (psi2 1.00ox103 (psi2 3.002x107 (pound) 0.0 (pound) 0.0 (pound)
1.213~106 (ti,m 1) -2.639x106 (N/lo ) 6.895~10~ (N/m ) 1.335x108 (N) (N) (N)

Anisotropic materials were also considered. The first problem solved is a stress
concentration around a hole of a micropolar elastic material which is orthotropic for force
stress but isotropic for couple stress. To generate the material properties of micropolar
elastic materials, classical technical constants of graphite-epoxy composite were chosen [9]:
E,=20x 106psi (1.379 x 10” N/m2), E2= 1 x 106psi (6.895 x lo9 N/m*),
G,, = 0.6 x lo6 psi (4.137 x lo9 N/m’), v,~ = 0.25, and v2, = 0.0125. By substituting these
values in equation [ lo]

E, v,,E,
01 1 - 0 61
1 - VlZVZI Vl2V21

v12E2 E2
1 - VlZVl2 0 62
O2 = 1 - v,*v*1
212 0 0 G,2 ~12
326 S. NAKAMUKA et al.

1 I I I I I I I I I

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Fig. 2. Stress concentration factor vs hole radius/characteristic length. Dotted lines are for an
analytical solution for a hole in ah infinite planar region under tension[S]. Open circles are
numerical results for a hole in a finite strip under tension. The material is assumed to be isotropic
and micropolar in both cases.

Table 2. Numerical results of stress concentration factor vs hole radius/characteristic length.

Numbers inside parentheses are analytical solutions for a hole in an infinite planar region under
tension 151

1
Radius Ratio
xx103 NO.
(inch) =fr NO.
Element rode N=O.VO N=0.75 N=0.50 N=0.25 N=O.O

4.156 0.520 1136 621 75 2.01 2.20 2.53 2.85 2.99

(2.02) (2.18) (2.50) (2.84) (3.00)

8.500 1.063 956 525 63 2.15 2.31 2.58 2.86 3.00

(2.16) (2.29) (2.55) (2.84) (3.00)

L2.157 1.520 866 477 57 2.27 2.40 2.62 2.87 3.00

(2.27) (2.38) (2.60) (2.86) (3.00)

(5.431 1.929 806 445 53 2.36 2.48 2.66 2.88 3.01

(2.37) (2.45) (2.63) (2.86) (3.00)

.9.587 2.448 746 413 49 2.47 2.56 2.71 2.90 3.02

(2.47) (2.53) (2.68) (2.87) (3.00)

!4.R62 3.108 686 381 45 2.58 2.66 2.78 2.93 3.04

(2.57) (2.62) (2.73) (2.88) (3.00)

11.560 3.945 626 349 41 2.70 2.77 2.85 2.97 3.07

(2.67) (2.70) (2.78) (2.90) 3.00)

,0.060 5.008 566 317 37 2.81 2.88 2.94 3.03 3.12

(2.75) (2.77) (2.82) (2.91) 3.00)

‘0.850 6.356 506 2R5 33 2.95 3.01 3.06 3.12 3.21

(2.82) (2.84) (2.87) (2.93) (3.00)

4.547 8.068 446 253 2d 3.11 2.19 3.22 3.27 3.34

__- (2.88) (2.89) (2.90) (2.94) (3.00)
 Finite element method for orthotropic micropolar elasticity 321

we obtain

=1 2.006 x 10’ 2.508 x 10’ 0 61

o2 = 2.508 x 10’ 1.003 x lo6 0 62

212 0 0 0.6 x lo6 y,2 (psi).

Based on these classical material properties, some of the material parameters for force
stress in eqn (4.4) are chosen as A f: = 2.006 x 1O’psi (1.383 x 10” N/m’),
A:: = 2.508 x 1O’psi (1.729 x 10gN/m2), and A:: = 1.003 x 106psi (6.915 x 10gN/m2),
and the rest are listed in Table 3 for different coupling factor N. Parameters for couple
stress in eqn (4.5) are fixed to B:i = B$ = 1.536 x 10” lb (6.832 x 10” N) and B::= 0.0lb
for all N. That is, the characteristic length is fixed to 8 x 10m3in. (2.032 x 1O-4 m) for all
N. The numerical results are listed in Table 4 and plotted in Fig. 3. The effects of finite
strip size are more pronounced than in the isotropic case.

Table 3. Some of the materials parameters corresponding to force stress of anisotropic materials

A
N Ai;
A:: A%

N - 0.90 3.1~3~106 (psi4 -1.958x106 (psi$ 3.158~10~ (psi4

2.177~10~~ (N/m ) -1.35O~lO~~ (N/m ) 2.177~10~~ (N/m )

N = 0.75 1.371x106 (psi -1.714x105 (psi3 1.371x106 (psi$

9.453x10g (N/n; 3 ) -1.182x10g (N/m ) 9.453x10’ (N/m )

N = 0.50 0.400x106 (psi4

2.758x10g (N/m )

N = 0.25 0.560~10~ (psi4 0.640x106 (Psi2

3.861~10~ (N/m ) 4.413~10’ (N/m )

N = 0.0 0.60@x106 (PSf,j

4.137x10g (N/m )

Table 4. Numerical results for the case of orthotropic for force stress but isotropic for couple stress
(l=l Xl=I Xl)=8x IO-‘in.)
_L--l

1
Radfus Ratio
NO. NO.
rx103
(inch) =/e Element
NO.
ode :onstr. N=0.90 N-O.75 N-0.50 N-O.25 N-O.0
-___

4.156 0.520 1136 621 75 3.9681 4.4916 5.1070 5.5092 5.6564

8.500 1.063 956 525 63 4.3136 4.7238 5.2013 5.5459 5.6876

12.157 1.520 866 477 57 4.5673 4.9068 5.2925 5.5917 5.7289

15.431 1.929 806 445 53 4.7579 5.0555 5.3789 5.6429 5.7762

19.587 2.440 746 413 49 4.9642 5.2271 5.4931 5.7201 5.8490

24.862 3.108 6R6 381 45 5.1890 5.4265 5.6444 5.8350 5.9593

31.560 3.945 626 349 41 5.4437 5.6634 5.8464 6.0040 6.1237

40.060 5.008 566 317 37 5.7501 5.9649 6.1196 6.2492 6.3650

50.850 6.356 506 285 33 6.1413 6.3572 6.4945 6.6023 6.7148

64.547 8.068 446 253 29 6.6643 6.8898 7.0171 7.1087 7.2197

--- -
328 S. NAKAMURA et al.

Kc 5

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ( ‘/a 1
8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 r mm
Fig. 3. Stress concentration factor vs hole radius for an anisotropic material which is orthotropic
for force stress but isotropic for couple stress (I = I,, = lx, = 8 x IO-‘in. (2.032 x 10m4 m). Open
circles are numerical results for a hole in a finite strip under tension. Results for a classical
anisotropic material are identical to those for N = 0 in a micropolar material.

Table 5. Numerical results for the case of orthotropic for both force stress and couple stress
(IXI= 64 x lo-’ in. and Ixz_= 8 x 10-r in.)
--
Radius GCG-
I-xl03
(inch)
=fr NO.
Element
TNNO.
ode
NO.
onstr. N=O.YO N=0.75 N=0.50 N=O. 25 N=O.O

4.156 0.520 1136 621 75 3.1668 4.3717 5.0723 5.5058 5.6564

8.500 1.063 956 525 63 3.8827 4.4500 5.1125 5.5354 5.6876

12.157 1.520 866 477 57 3.9880 4.5281 5.1599 5.5742 5.7289

15.431 1.929 806 445 53 4.0837 4.6038 5.2111 5.6186 5.7762

19.587 2.448 746 413 49 4.2059 4.7057 5.2865 5.6858 5.849C

24.862 3.108 686 381 45 4.3623 4.8432 5.3967 5.7899 5.959:

31.560 3.945 626 349 4.5652 5.0291 5.5564 5.9435 6.1231

40.060 5.008 566 317 4.8332 5.2827 5.7057 6.1689 5.3651

1
50.850 6.356 506 285 5.1939 5.6317 6.1130 6.4953 6.714E

64.547 8.068 446 253 4.6879 6.2266 6.5791 6.9653 7.2191

-
 Finite element method for orthotropic micropolar elasticity 329
A third problem of anisotropic materials is also a stress concentration around a hole
of a micropolar elastic material which is orthotropic for both force stress and couple stress.
Material parameters for force stress are the same as the previous example and parameters
corresponding to couple stress in eqn (4.5) are B:f = 9.830 x 10” lb (4.373 x 1013N),
Bii = 0.0 lb, and B$ = 1.536 x 10” lb (6.832 x 10” N). In this case characteristic length is
different for the x,- and x,-direction and I,, = 6.4 x lo-’ in. (1.626 x 10m3m) and
l,, = 8 x lO-3 in. (2.032 x 10e4 m). The numerical results are listed in Table 5 and plotted
in Fig. 4.
In the above examples dealing with anisotropic materials, the force stress (classical)
elastic constants were chosen to be equal to those of a graphite epoxy composite. For the
micropolar cases, the micropolar characteristic lengths were chosen arbitrarily, for the
purpose of illustrating the method. The actual micropolar elastic constants of synthetic
composites are, to the authors’ knowledge, presently unknown.

4. DISCUSSION
A planar finite element method for orthotropic, micropolar solids has been developed.
The feasibility of the method has been examined by comparing its predictions with the
analytical solution for stress concentration around a hole in an infinite plate. Agreement
between numerically and analytically predicted stress is excellent for holes much smaller
than the finite strip width.

N=O .00

7 Nr0.25

N=O. 50

N=O.75
6
N=O. 90

8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 (~10~~ inch)
I/0 2/8 3/B 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/a 8/8 r/l X1

Fig. 4. Stress concentration factor Gs hole radius for an anisotropic material which is orthotropic
for both force and couple stress (ix, = 6.4 x 10m2in. (1.626 x 10m3m) and I,, = 8 x 10e3in
(2.032 x 10m4m). Open circles are numerical results for a hole in a finite strip under tension.
330 S. NAKAMURA et al.

The method described here is intended for the stress analysis of micropolar materials
in complex geometries used in engineering applications. Materials with a fibrous, granular,
or lattice structure are thought to behave according to micropolar elasticity. Theoretical
predictions of micropolar elastic constants are available for some simple composite
geometries[l 11. Experimental determination of micropolar constants has been performed
by one of the authors (R.L.) for a natural composite, human compact bone[12-141.
Experimental determination of elastic constants of micropolar composites is a subject for
future research.

~ck~ow~e~ge~e~rs-~is research was supported by NIH grants l-ROl-AM25863-01, BRSG PSO7035-13, and
BRSG 5S07RR0703514.

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[S] S. C. COWIN, ZAMP, 21, 494 (1970).
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[7] K. E. ATKINSON, An Introduction to Numerical Analysis. Wiley, New York (1978).
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[9] N. J. PAGAN0 and J. M. WHITNEY, J. Comp. Mater. 4, 360 (1970).
[IO] R. M. JONES, ~ech~~c~ of Composite ~a~erja~~. Scripta, New York (1975).
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(Received 25 October 1982)