Pure azimuthal shearing deformations for an extended class of elastic materials that are characterized by a microstructurally motivated internal balance principle

In the event of certain substructural reconfiguration in solids, it is sometimes the case that the notion of simple deformation X → x must be broadened so as to incorporate a more detailed kinematic description. This typically involves new kinematic variables in addition to x = x(X). Each new kinematic variable is in turn associated with an additional balance principle of the same tensor order as the new kinematic field variable. Gurtin's theory of configurational forces and the Ericksen model of liquid crystals are examples of such theories.; Recently a new constitutive framework for treating finite deformations when conventional elastic behavior is modified by the action of an additional microstructural balance requirement was proposed by Pence and Tsai. This framework offers interesting possibilities for the development of singular surfaces that can be interpreted as locations of concentrated microstructural rearrangement. This thesis investigates the solution of the pure azimuthal shear problem in this new framework.