Compatibility (Mechanics) - Wikipedia

Compatibility
(mechanics)
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In continuum mechanics, a compatible deformation (or

strain) tensor field in a body is that unique tensor field
that is obtained when the body is subjected to a
continuous, single-valued, displacement field.
Compatibility is the study of the conditions under
which such a displacement field can be guaranteed.
Compatibility conditions are particular cases of
integrability conditions and were first derived for
linear elasticity by Barré de Saint-Venant in 1864
and proved rigorously by Beltrami in 1886.[1]
In the continuum description of a solid body we imagine

the body to be composed of a set of infinitesimal
volumes or material points. Each volume is assumed to
be connected to its neighbors without any gaps or
overlaps. Certain mathematical conditions have to be
satisfied to ensure that gaps/overlaps do not develop
when a continuum body is deformed. A body that
deforms without developing any gaps/overlaps is called
a compatible body. Compatibility conditions are
mathematical conditions that determine whether a
particular deformation will leave a body in a
compatible state.[2]
In the context of infinitesimal strain theory, these
conditions are equivalent to stating that the
displacements in a body can be obtained by integrating
the strains. Such an integration is possible if the
Saint-Venant's tensor (or incompatibility tensor)
vanishes in a simply-connected body[3] where
is the infinitesimal strain tensor and
For finite deformations the compatibility conditions

take the form
where is the deformation gradient.
Compatibility
conditions for
infinitesimal strains
The compatibility conditions in linear elasticity are
obtained by observing that there are six strain-
displacement relations that are functions of only three
unknown displacements. This suggests that the three
displacements may be removed from the system of
equations without loss of information. The resulting
expressions in terms of only the strains provide
constraints on the possible forms of a strain field.
2-dimensions
For two-dimensional, plane strain problems the strain-

displacement relations are
Repeated differentiation of these relations, in order to
remove the displacements and , gives us the
two-dimensional compatibility condition for strains
The only displacement field that is allowed by a

compatible plane strain field is a plane displacement
field, i.e., .
3-dimensions
In three dimensions, in addition to two more equations
of the form seen for two dimensions, there are three
more equations of the form
Therefore, there are 34=81 partial differential

equations however due to symmetry conditions this
number reduces to six different compatibility
conditions. We can write these conditions in index
notation as[4]
where is the permutation symbol. In direct tensor

notation

where the curl operator can be expressed in an

orthonormal coordinate system as
.
The second-order tensor
is known as the incompatibility tensor, and is

equivalent to the Saint-Venant compatibility tensor
Compatibility
conditions for finite
strains
For solids in which the deformations are not required
to be small, the compatibility conditions take the form
where is the deformation gradient. In terms of

components with respect to a Cartesian coordinate
system we can write these compatibility relations as
This condition is necessary if the deformation is to be

continuous and derived from the mapping
(see Finite strain theory). The same
condition is also sufficient to ensure compatibility in a
simply connected body.
Compatibility condition for the right
Cauchy-Green deformation tensor
The compatibility condition for the right Cauchy-

Green deformation tensor can be expressed as
where is the Christoffel symbol of the second

kind. The quantity represents the mixed
components of the Riemann-Christoffel curvature
tensor.
The general
compatibility problem
The problem of compatibility in continuum mechanics
involves the determination of allowable single-valued
continuous fields on simply connected bodies. More
precisely, the problem may be stated in the following
manner.[5]
Figure 1. Motion of a continuum body.
Consider the deformation of a body shown in Figure 1.

If we express all vectors in terms of the reference
coordinate system , the
displacement of a point in the body is given by
Also
What conditions on a given second-order tensor field

on a body are necessary and sufficient so
that there exists a unique vector field that
satisfies
Necessary conditions
For the necessary conditions we assume that the field
exists and satisfies . Then
Since changing the order of differentiation does not

affect the result we have
Hence
From the well known identity for the curl of a tensor we

get the necessary condition
Sufficient conditions
Figure 2. Integration paths used in proving the sufficiency conditions
for compatibility.
To prove that this condition is sufficient to guarantee

existence of a compatible second-order tensor field, we
start with the assumption that a field exists such
that . We will integrate this field to
find the vector field along a line between points
and (see Figure 2), i.e.,

If the vector field is to be single-valued then the

value of the integral should be independent of the path
taken to go from to .
From Stokes' theorem, the integral of a second order

tensor along a closed path is given by
Using the assumption that the curl of is zero, we

get

Hence the integral is path independent and the
compatibility condition is sufficient to ensure a unique
field, provided that the body is simply connected.
Compatibility of the
deformation gradient
The compatibility condition for the deformation
gradient is obtained directly from the above proof by
observing that
Then the necessary and sufficient conditions for the

existence of a compatible field over a simply
connected body are

Compatibility of
infinitesimal strains
The compatibility problem for small strains can be
stated as follows.
Given a symmetric second order tensor field when is

it possible to construct a vector field such that
Suppose that there exists such that the expression

for holds. Now

where
Therefore, in index notation,
If is continuously differentiable we have

. Hence,
In direct tensor notation
The above are necessary conditions. If is the

infinitesimal rotation vector then
. Hence the necessary
condition may also be written as
.
Let us now assume that the condition

is satisfied in a portion of
a body. Is this condition sufficient to guarantee the
existence of a continuous, single-valued displacement
field ?
The first step in the process is to show that this

condition implies that the infinitesimal rotation tensor
is uniquely defined. To do that we integrate
along the path to , i.e.,

Note that we need to know a reference to

fix the rigid body rotation. The field is
uniquely determined only if the contour integral along
a closed contour between and is zero, i.e.,
But from Stokes' theorem for a simply-connected body

and the necessary condition for compatibility

Therefore, the field is uniquely defined which
implies that the infinitesimal rotation tensor is also
uniquely defined, provided the body is simply
connected.
In the next step of the process we will consider the

uniqueness of the displacement field . As before we
integrate the displacement gradient
From Stokes' theorem and using the relations

we have

Hence the displacement field is also determined
uniquely. Hence the compatibility conditions are
sufficient to guarantee the existence of a unique
displacement field in a simply-connected body.
Compatibility for Right

Cauchy-Green
Deformation field
The compatibility problem for the Right Cauchy-
Green deformation field can be posed as follows.
Problem: Let be a positive definite symmetric

tensor field defined on the reference configuration.
Under what conditions on does there exist a
deformed configuration marked by the position field
such that

Suppose that a field exists that satisfies

condition (1). In terms of components with respect to a
rectangular Cartesian basis
From finite strain theory we know that

. Hence we can write

For two symmetric second-order tensor field that are
mapped one-to-one we also have the relation
From the relation between of and that

, we have
Then, from the relation
we have

From finite strain theory we also have
Therefore,
and we have

Again, using the commutative nature of the order of
differentiation, we have
or
After collecting terms we get
From the definition of we observe that it is

invertible and hence cannot be zero. Therefore,

We can show these are the mixed components of the

Riemann-Christoffel curvature tensor. Therefore, the
necessary conditions for -compatibility are that the
Riemann-Christoffel curvature of the deformation is
zero.
The proof of sufficiency is a bit more involved.[5][6] We

start with the assumption that
We have to show that there exist and such that

From a theorem by T.Y.Thomas [7] we know that the

system of equations
has unique solutions over simply connected

domains if
The first of these is true from the defining of

and the second is assumed. Hence the assumed
condition gives us a unique that is
continuous.
Next consider the system of equations
Since is and the body is simply connected

there exists some solution to the above
equations. We can show that the also satisfy the
property that
We can also show that the relation
implies that

If we associate these quantities with tensor fields we

can show that is invertible and the constructed
tensor field satisfies the expression for .
See also
Saint-Venant's compatibility condition
Linear elasticity
Deformation (mechanics)
Infinitesimal strain theory
Finite strain theory
Tensor derivative (continuum mechanics)
Curvilinear coordinates
References
1. C Amrouche, PG Ciarlet, L Gratie, S Kesavan,
On Saint Venant's compatibility conditions and
Poincaré's lemma, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser.
I, 342 (2006), 887-891.
doi:10.1016/j.crma.2006.03.026
2. Barber, J. R., 2002, Elasticity - 2nd Ed.,
Kluwer Academic Publications.
3. N.I. Muskhelishvili, Some Basic Problems of
the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity.
Leyden: Noordhoff Intern. Publ., 1975.
4. Slaughter, W. S., 2003, The linearized theory of
elasticity, Birkhauser
5. Acharya, A., 1999, On Compatibility Conditions
for the Left Cauchy–Green Deformation Field
in Three Dimensions, Journal of Elasticity,
Volume 56, Number 2 , 95-105
6. Blume, J. A., 1989, "Compatibility conditions for
a left Cauchy-Green strain field", J. Elasticity,
v. 21, p. 271-308.
7. Thomas, T. Y., 1934, "Systems of total
differential equations defined over simply
connected domains", Annals of Mathematics,
35(4), p. 930-734
External links
Amit Acharya's notes on compatibility on
iMechanica
Plasticity by J. Lubliner, sec. 1.2.4 p. 35
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Compatibility

The lead section of this article may need to be rewritten.

In continuum mechanics, a compatible deformation (or

In the continuum description of a solid body we imagine

For finite deformations the compatibility conditions

where is the deformation gradient.

For two-dimensional, plane strain problems the strain-

The only displacement field that is allowed by a

Therefore, there are 34=81 partial differential

where is the permutation symbol. In direct tensor

where the curl operator can be expressed in an

The second-order tensor

is known as the incompatibility tensor, and is

where is the deformation gradient. In terms of

This condition is necessary if the deformation is to be

The compatibility condition for the right Cauchy-

where is the Christoffel symbol of the second

Figure 1. Motion of a continuum body.

Consider the deformation of a body shown in Figure 1.

What conditions on a given second-order tensor field

Since changing the order of differentiation does not

From the well known identity for the curl of a tensor we

To prove that this condition is sufficient to guarantee

If the vector field is to be single-valued then the

From Stokes' theorem, the integral of a second order

Using the assumption that the curl of is zero, we

Then the necessary and sufficient conditions for the

Given a symmetric second order tensor field when is

Suppose that there exists such that the expression

Therefore, in index notation,

If is continuously differentiable we have

In direct tensor notation

The above are necessary conditions. If is the

Let us now assume that the condition

The first step in the process is to show that this

Note that we need to know a reference to

But from Stokes' theorem for a simply-connected body

In the next step of the process we will consider the

From Stokes' theorem and using the relations

Compatibility for Right

Problem: Let be a positive definite symmetric

Suppose that a field exists that satisfies

From finite strain theory we know that

From the relation between of and that

Then, from the relation

From finite strain theory we also have

After collecting terms we get

From the definition of we observe that it is

We can show these are the mixed components of the

The proof of sufficiency is a bit more involved.[5][6] We

We have to show that there exist and such that

From a theorem by T.Y.Thomas [7] we know that the

has unique solutions over simply connected

The first of these is true from the defining of

Since is and the body is simply connected

We can also show that the relation

If we associate these quantities with tensor fields we

tensor field satisfies the expression for .

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