Decomposing Uniaxial Stresses

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on decomposing a uniaxial compressive stress into hydrostatic and pure shear components. The user presents a stress tensor and attempts to express it in terms of hydrostatic pressure and deviatoric stress. Key insights include that the hydrostatic pressure, denoted as p, is equal to -σ/3, and the deviatoric tensor represents pure shear. There is a mention of confusion regarding the assignment's reference to two states of pure shear. The solution suggests replacing p in the original tensor with σ/3 for accurate decomposition.
muskie25
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Homework Statement


I am having trouble decomposing a uniaxial compressive stress into hydrostatic and pure shear components.

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


I am starting with

##
\begin{pmatrix}
-\sigma & 0 & 0 \\
0 & 0 & 0\\
0 & 0 & 0
\end{pmatrix}
##

I then do
##
\begin{pmatrix}
-\sigma & 0 & 0 \\
0 & 0 & 0\\
0 & 0 & 0
\end{pmatrix} =

\begin{pmatrix}
-p & 0 & 0 \\
0 & -p & 0\\
0 & 0 & -p
\end{pmatrix}

+

\begin{pmatrix}
-2p & 0 & 0 \\
0 & p & 0\\
0 & 0 & p
\end{pmatrix}


##

where ## p ## is the hydrostatic pressure. I don't think that this looks correct. Any thoughts?
 
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What is 1/3 of the trace of the stress tensor?
 
Chestermiller,

Do you mean the hydrostatic pressure, ## p ## ?

## p = -\sigma/3 ##
 
Chestermiller said:
What is 1/3 of the trace of the stress tensor?

Chestermiller,

Do you mean the hydrostatic pressure, ## p ## ?

## p = −\sigma/3 ##

I know that the deviatoric tensor is indeed pure shear, because the sum of the diagonal = 0, but my assignment says that there are two states of pure shear. I am either misunderstanding the wording of the problem or I am misunderstanding how to decompose a stress tensor.
 
muskie25 said:
Chestermiller,

Do you mean the hydrostatic pressure, ## p ## ?

## p = −\sigma/3 ##

I know that the deviatoric tensor is indeed pure shear, because the sum of the diagonal = 0, but my assignment says that there are two states of pure shear. I am either misunderstanding the wording of the problem or I am misunderstanding how to decompose a stress tensor.
Just replace the p's in your post #1 by ##\sigma/3##, and you'll have the right answer.
 
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