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On symmetries of higher-order elastic constants

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aTerminal Effects Division, DEVCOM ARL, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 21005-5066, USA
*Correspondence e-mail: [email protected]

In elastic crystals, a hyperelastic description is conventionally assumed, and the strain energy potential is idealized as a Taylor-series expansion in strain about an unstrained reference state. Coefficients of quadratic terms are second-order or linear elastic constants. Coefficients of higher-order terms are elastic constants of third order, fourth order, and so on. Recently published work by Telyatnik [Acta Cryst. (2024), A80, 394–404] extends prior knowledge of symmetry properties for anisotropic elastic constants of single crystals, as well as transversely isotropic and isotropic solids, to terms up to sixth order. Effective elastic constants for polycrystalline aggregates, with possible anisotropy, were reported by Telyatnik, in the same article, to the same order. A terse summary of nonlinear crystal elasticity and independent elastic constants of orders two and three are given in this commentary for context. Methods and results of Telyatnik, anticipated to be of great utility to crystal elasticity research, are then highlighted.

1. Nonlinear elasticity of crystals

Linear elasticity accurately describes the mechanical response of elastic solids when deformations are small and the stress–strain response is linear, meaning Hooke's law applies. Linear elasticity theory (Voigt, 1910View full citation; Love, 1927View full citation; Hearmon, 1946View full citation) can be successfully applied to many, if not most, problems in structural mechanics. A nonlinear theory, on the other hand, is needed for accurate descriptions of mechanics of solids when deformations are large or when linearity breaks down.

All known solids are ultimately nonlinear. No finite volume of any real material can be compressed to a point of infinitesimal size: its bulk modulus must eventually increase with decreasing volume to prevent this. Nonlinear elasticity can describe wave propagation in pre-stressed crystals (Thurston & Brugger, 1964View full citation; Thurston et al., 1966View full citation; Thurston, 1974View full citation) and short-range core effects from lattice defects (Teodosiu, 1982View full citation). At regimes departing more from linearity (Chang & Barsch, 1967View full citation), or in shock compression, elastic constants up to order four have been measured (Fowles, 1967View full citation; Graham, 1972View full citation). In strong crystals such as quartz, sapphire and diamond, large uniaxial compressive deformations can be reached before inelasticity from dislocation motion, deformation twinning or fracture ensues (Clayton, 2019View full citation). Chen et al. (2020View full citation) showed the importance of anisotropic constants up to fifth order on the stability of silicon.

Symmetries of second-order constants for anisotropic elasticity of crystals have been known for over a century (Voigt, 1910View full citation; Hearmon, 1946View full citation). Independent third-order constants have been known for all crystal classes since works by Fumi (1951View full citation) and Hearmon (1953View full citation), and those of fourth-order since the work of Brendel (1979View full citation). Measurements of third-order constants often rely on sound speeds in pre-stressed crystals (Thurston & Brugger, 1964View full citation; Brugger, 1965View full citation; Thurston, 1974View full citation). Contemporary first-principles atomic simulations involving density functional theory (DFT) have been used to predict constants up to orders four and five (Chen et al., 2020View full citation; Pandit & Bongiorno, 2023View full citation). Since elastic constants are ultimately related to interatomic forces (Born & Huang, 1954View full citation; Wallace, 1972View full citation), characteristics of elastic constants give insight into atomic-scale physics, and vice versa. Higher-order constants are associated with anharmonicity (Hiki & Granato, 1966View full citation; Hiki, 1981View full citation).

A brief primer is given here; theoretical presentations of nonlinear elasticity for anisotropic crystals are available in books on the subject (Thurston, 1974View full citation; Teodosiu, 1982View full citation; Clayton, 2011View full citation). Let Mathematical equation be the spatial position vector of a material particle that occupied a reference position Mathematical equation at some initial time Mathematical equation. Cartesian coordinates (xk,XK) with Mathematical equation are used for Euclidean 3-space, and repeated indices are summed. The deformation gradient Mathematical equation is the two-point tensor

Mathematical equation

Per the Cauchy–Born rule, primitive Bravais lattice vectors of a crystalline material at point Mathematical equation deform affinely with Mathematical equation (Born & Huang, 1954View full citation; Clayton, 2011View full citation). The classical strain measure for nonlinear crystal elasticity is the Green–Lagrange strain (Wallace, 1972View full citation; Thurston, 1974View full citation; Clayton, 2011View full citation):

Mathematical equation

Strain energy per unit initial volume is Mathematical equation. Isentropic or isothermal conditions are implied; elastic constants are isentropic or isothermal values. Cauchy (true) stress is

Mathematical equation

Using Greek indices Mathematical equation for Voigt notation (Thurston, 1974View full citation; Clayton, 2011View full citation), series expansion of W gives

Mathematical equation

The constant datum energy is W0, first-order Mathematical equation for a stress-free reference state, second-order constants are Mathematical equation, third-order are Mathematical equation, and so on. Constants have implied symmetries:

Mathematical equation

For materials (i.e. crystal classes) of lowest (i.e. triclinic) symmetry, Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation have 21 and 56 independent components, respectively.

Denote by Mathematical equation an orthogonal matrix (Mathematical equation) that belongs to the symmetry group of transformations for a given material (e.g. its Laue group or crystal class). Then Mathematical equation yields constraints among the elastic constants of each order dictated by that symmetry group. The greater the intrinsic symmetry, the more expansive the symmetry group, and heuristically the fewer independent elastic constants of a given order. For example, if a material is isotropic, Mathematical equation can be any rotation, limiting the number of independent Mathematical equation to two and Mathematical equation to three.

For crystal structures, standard conventions are used to relate coordinate axes to directions in the lattice (Brainerd et al., 1949View full citation); an example is shown in Fig. 1[link] for a triclinic crystal. Independent second- and third-order elastic constants (Fumi, 1951View full citation; Hearmon, 1953View full citation) for all 11 Laue groups and isotropic solids are reported for easy reference in Tables 1[link] and 2[link], following Brugger (1965View full citation), Thurston (1974View full citation) and Clayton (2011View full citation).

Table 1
Second-order elastic constants

N, triclinic; M, monoclinic; O, orthorhombic; R, rhombohedral; T, tetragonal; H, hexagonal; C, cubic; iso, isotropic; I and II, classes of respective higher and lower symmetry. Mathematical equation. Bottom row: No. of independent constants. See Thurston (1974View full citation), Clayton (2011View full citation).

N M O TII TI RII RI HII HI CII CI iso
11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12
14 0 0 0 0 14 14 0 0 0 0 0
15 15 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 22 22 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11
23 23 23 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12
24 0 0 0 0 −14 −14 0 0 0 0 0
25 25 0 0 0 −15 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 0 0 −16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 11 11 11
34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 A
45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
46 46 0 0 0 −15 0 0 0 0 0 0
55 55 55 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 A
56 0 0 0 0 14 14 0 0 0 0 0
66 66 66 66 66 A A A A 44 44 A
                       
21 13 9 7 6 7 6 5 5 3 3 2

Table 2
Third-order elastic constants

Notation in first row follows Table 1[link]. Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation; Mathematical equation. Bottom row: No. of independent constants. See Thurston (1974View full citation), Clayton (2011View full citation).

N M O TII TI RII RI HII HI CII CI iso
111 111 111 111 111 111 111 111 111 111 111 111
112 112 112 112 112 112 112 112 112 112 112 112
113 113 113 113 113 113 113 113 113 113 112 112
114 0 0 0 0 114 114 0 0 0 0 0
115 115 0 0 0 115 0 0 0 0 0 0
116 0 0 116 0 116 0 116 0 0 0 0
122 122 122 112 112 A A A A 113 112 112
123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123 123
124 0 0 0 0 124 124 0 0 0 0 0
125 125 0 0 0 125 0 0 0 0 0 0
126 0 0 0 0 −116 0 −116 0 0 0 0
133 133 133 133 133 133 133 133 133 112 112 112
134 0 0 0 0 134 134 0 0 0 0 0
135 135 0 0 0 135 0 0 0 0 0 0
136 0 0 136 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 L
145 0 0 145 0 145 0 145 0 0 0 0
146 146 0 0 0 B 0 0 0 0 0 0
155 155 155 155 155 155 155 155 155 155 155 M
156 0 0 0 0 C C 0 0 0 0 0
166 166 166 166 166 D D D D 166 155 M
222 222 222 111 111 222 222 222 222 111 111 111
223 223 223 113 113 113 113 113 113 112 112 112
224 0 0 0 0 E E 0 0 0 0 0
225 225 0 0 0 F 0 0 0 0 0 0
226 0 0 −116 0 116 0 116 0 0 0 0
233 233 233 133 133 133 133 133 133 113 112 112
234 0 0 0 0 −134 −134 0 0 0 0 0
235 235 0 0 0 −135 0 0 0 0 0 0
236 0 0 −136 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
244 244 244 155 155 155 155 155 155 166 155 M
245 0 0 −145 0 −145 0 −145 0 0 0 0
246 246 0 0 0 G 0 0 0 0 0 0
255 255 255 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 L
256 0 0 0 0 H H 0 0 0 0 0
266 266 266 166 166 I I I I 155 155 M
333 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 111 111 111
334 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
335 335 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
336 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
344 344 344 344 344 344 344 344 344 155 155 M
345 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
346 346 0 0 0 −135 0 0 0 0 0 0
355 355 355 344 344 344 344 344 344 166 155 M
356 0 0 0 0 134 134 0 0 0 0 0
366 366 366 366 366 J J J J 144 144 L
444 0 0 0 0 444 444 0 0 0 0 0
445 445 0 0 0 445 0 0 0 0 0 0
446 0 0 446 0 145 0 145 0 0 0 0
455 0 0 0 0 −444 −444 0 0 0 0 0
456 456 456 456 456 K K K K 456 456 N
466 0 0 0 0 124 124 0 0 0 0 0
555 555 0 0 0 −445 0 0 0 0 0 0
556 0 0 −446 0 −145 0 −145 0 0 0 0
566 566 0 0 0 125 0 0 0 0 0 0
666 0 0 0 0 −116 0 −116 0 0 0 0
                       
56 32 20 16 12 20 14 12 10 8 6 3
[Figure 1]
Figure 1
Standard coordinate axes Mathematical equation and natural lattice directions (a, b, c) for a triclinic class I crystal. Based on Brainerd et al. (1949View full citation) (redrawn by the author).

Also of theoretical interest are Cauchy symmetries arising if all interatomic forces are central, as from a pair potential (Love, 1927View full citation; Born & Huang, 1954View full citation). In tensor form, second-order constants then obey Mathematical equation; similar constraints arise at higher orders. In cubic classes of greatest symmetry, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation in Voigt notation. In a Cauchy isotropic solid, Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation each contain but one independent constant, and Poisson's ratio Mathematical equation.

Symmetric second-order strain tensors differing from Mathematical equation of (2[link]) have been used in nonlinear elastic potentials akin to (4[link]), with noted advantages for describing DFT (Nielsen, 1986View full citation) and shock (Clayton, 2019View full citation) data. Symmetries of elastic constant tensors of all orders are unchanged (e.g. Tables 1[link] and 2[link] remain valid) so long as the strain tensor has components referred to {XK}; any such strain transforms the same under the action of Mathematical equation. Values of Mathematical equation are identical for all such strain measures, but values of Mathematical equation and constants of successively higher orders generally differ, and (3[link]) is transformed for strain different from Mathematical equation. Another example is linear elasticity, for which the small strain tensor is Mathematical equation with displacement Mathematical equation. To first order in Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation. Informally, when Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation and W is truncated at order two, (3[link]) and (4[link]) give Hooke's law:

Mathematical equation

The effective elastic constants of heterogeneous solids (e.g. polycrystalline aggregates) depend on the properties and orientations of constituents (Gnaupel-Herold, 2023View full citation). If an aggregate has a certain target symmetry, estimates or bounds on its effective `averaged' constants can be obtained from theoretical averaging schemes. For second-order constants, well known estimates include upper and lower bounds of Voigt and Reuss, respectively, Hill's proposition (Hill, 1952View full citation) that interpolates between the two, and `self-consistent' models (Kroner, 1958View full citation; De Wit, 1997View full citation). Such methods were extended to third-order constants for isotropic (Barsch, 1968View full citation; Lubarda, 1997View full citation) and textured (Johnson, 1985View full citation; Kube & Turner, 2016View full citation) polycrystals. Isotropic Voigt averages of fourth-order constants for aggregates of cubic crystals were derived by Krasilnikov & Vekilov (2019View full citation).

2. Nonlinear crystal elasticity to sixth order

Telyatnik (2024View full citation) recently developed numerically efficient algorithms for symbolic computations of effective elastic constants of orders two through six for polycrystalline aggregates having overall target symmetries of any crystal class, transverse isotropy or full isotropy. Constituent crystallites can have any anisotropy. Effective constants are defined as arithmetic averages over the minimal set of symmetry operations generating a given target symmetry. In cases of targeted transverse or full isotropy, continuous integrals replace discrete averages. For efficiency, nested calculations for higher symmetries apply precomputed averages from lower symmetries. Gauss–Jordan elimination is used to find algebraic relationships among all elastic constants of a given order, for each target symmetry. Computations exceed capabilities of existing tools supplementing Vol. D of the International Tables for Crystallography (Authier & Zarembowitch, 2003View full citation).

Independent elastic constants and symmetry relationships for all crystal classes, transverse isotropy and full isotropy, for orders two through six, are provided in Appendix A of Telyatnik (2024View full citation) and Telyatnik (2021View full citation). Previously, such information (e.g. as in Tables 1[link] and 2[link]) was available only for constants of all crystal classes and isotropy, to order four (Brendel, 1979View full citation). Averages for independent elastic constants, again up to sixth order, are given in Appendix B of Telyatnik (2024View full citation) and Telyatnik (2021View full citation). These include the target symmetries of all crystal classes, transverse isotropy and isotropy. Other appendices (Telyatnik, 2021View full citation; Telyatnik, 2024View full citation) list all components and rotation matrices. For anisotropic target symmetries, averages are defined as described in the preceding paragraph. These averages do not incorporate data on local crystal orientations (i.e. distribution functions) included in some prior definitions of effective third-order constants (Johnson, 1985View full citation; Kube & Turner, 2016View full citation). Therefore, anisotropic aggregate constants of Telyatnik (2024View full citation) cannot be expected to reproduce effective constants of textured polycrystalline metals, for example. However, these anisotropic aggregate values can serve as higher-symmetry approximations for constants of classes of lower true symmetry (Telyatnik, 2021View full citation).

For isotropic target symmetry, averaged constants (Telyatnik, 2024View full citation) are consistent with Voigt's postulate. Previous isotropic averages were usually limited to second and third orders, with the latter for constituents having cubic or hexagonal symmetry (Barsch, 1968View full citation; Lubarda, 1997View full citation; Kube & Turner, 2016View full citation). Previously, the highest known order of derived, isotropic Voigt-averaged constants was four, as reported in Appendix A of Krasilnikov & Vekilov (2019View full citation) for crystallites of general anisotropy (e.g. triclinic symmetry) and verified independently by Telyatnik (2024View full citation). Therefore, the isotropic Voigt-type averages for five independent fifth-order constants and seven independent sixth-order constants derived by Telyatnik (2024View full citation) appear to be a new and valuable contribution to nonlinear elasticity theory for solid crystals.

Finally, note that for some solids under extreme strain [e.g. rubbery polymers (Ogden, 1984View full citation) and biological tissues (Fung, 1993View full citation)] Taylor polynomials like (4[link]) can be cumbersome so are often replaced with other functional forms (e.g. exponentials) needing fewer constants to fit data. These solids are often idealized as incompressible, for which (3[link]) and (4[link]) are inappropriate.

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