Spherically Symmetric Tensor Fields and Their Application in Nonlinear Theory of Dislocations

The concept of a spherically symmetric second-rank tensor field is formulated. A general representation of such a tensor field is derived. Results related to tensor analysis of spherically symmetric fields and their geometric properties are presented. Using these results, a formulation of the spherically symmetric problem of the nonlinear theory of dislocations is given. For an isotropic nonlinear elastic material with an arbitrary spherically symmetric distribution of dislocations, this problem is reduced to a nonlinear boundary value problem for a system of ordinary differential equations. In the case of an incompressible isotropic material and a spherically symmetric distribution of screw dislocations in the radial direction, an exact analytical solution is found for the equilibrium of a hollow sphere loaded from the outside and from the inside by hydrostatic pressures. This solution is suitable for any models of an isotropic incompressible body, i.e., universal in the specified class of materials. Based on the obtained solution, numerical calculations on the effect of dislocations on the stress state of an elastic hollow sphere at large deformations are carried out.