Stress-Induced Phase Transformations of an Isotropic Incompressible Elastic Body Subject to a Triaxial Stress State

The present paper concerns the stable multiphase isochoric deformations for an isotropic elastic body subject to a surface traction of uniform Piola stress with two equal principal forces which are opposite to the third. To model the occurrence of such deformations, we consider a strain energy density function which depends on the first principal invariant of deformation through a non-convex function and which has an added linear dependence on the second invariant. We establish existence conditions for equilibrium multiphase deformations which give restrictions on the morphology of the connecting phases as well as on the orientation of the flat interfaces between the phases. Finally, by considering a special, but representative, form for the non-convex strain energy function, we show that there exists a “critical” value of the external load which allows for the emergence of stable coexistent deformation fields.