1303.3569 (Ali R. Hadjesfandiari)

On the skew-symmetric character of the couple-stress tensor    [PDF]

Ali R. Hadjesfandiari

In this work, the skew-symmetric character of the couple-stress tensor is established as the result of symmetry arguments associated with the pseudo character of the couple-traction vector. We notice that while the normal component of this vector on any arbitrary surface is mathematically a pseudo-scalar, its mechanical effect requires it physically to be a true scalar. Therefore, by contradiction this normal component must vanish, which in turn shows that the couple-stress tensor is skew-symmetric. Consequently, the pseudo couple-stress tensor has a true vectorial character.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.3569