The physical meaning of Cosserat, void, and microstretch elastic constants is
analyzed and interpreted. Various torsion experiment designs provide a clear path to
extract Cosserat elastic constants independently of any dilatation gradient sensitivity
the material may have. For void elasticity (with sensitivity to dilatation
gradients) there is no known quasistatic modality to demonstrate phenomena or
extract elastic constants independently of any sensitivity to rotation gradients.
Wave methods may be appropriate if there is minimal viscoelastic dispersion.
Microstretch elasticity, which includes sensitivity to gradients of rotation and of
dilatation could account for bending effects larger than those of Cosserat
elasticity.
Department of Engineering
Physics
University of Wisconsin – Madison
147 Engineering Research Building
1500 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1687
United States
