Physically-based approach to the mechanics of strong non-local linear elasticity theory

In this paper the physically-based approach to non-local elasticity theory is introduced. It is formulated by reverting the continuum to an ensemble of interacting volume elements. Interactions between adjacent elements are classical contact forces while long-range interactions between non-adjacent elements are modelled as distance-decaying central body forces. The latter are proportional to the relative displacements rather than to the strain field as in the Eringen model and subsequent developments. At the limit the displacement field is found to be governed by an integro-differential equation, solved by a simple discretization procedure suggested by the underlying mechanical model itself, with corresponding static boundary conditions enforced in a quite simple form. It is then shown that the constitutive law of the proposed model coalesces with the Eringen constitutive law for an unbounded domain under suitable assumptions, whereas it remains substantially different for a bounded domain. Thermodynamic consistency of the model also has been investigated in detail and some numerical applications are presented for different parameters and different functional forms for the decay of the long range forces. For simplicity, the problem is formulated for a 1D continuum while the general formulation for a 3D elastic solid has been reported in the appendix.