Infinitesimal Strain Theory - Infinitesimal Rotation Tensor

Infinitesimal Rotation Tensor

The infinitesimal strain tensor is defined as

$\boldsymbol{\varepsilon} = \frac{1}{2}$

Therefore the displacement gradient can be expressed as

$\boldsymbol{\nabla}\mathbf{u} = \boldsymbol{\varepsilon} + \boldsymbol{\omega}$

where

$\boldsymbol{\omega} := \frac{1}{2}$

The quantity is the infinitesimal rotation tensor. This tensor is skew symmetric. For infinitesimal deformations the scalar components of satisfy the condition . Note that the displacement gradient is small only if both the strain tensor and the rotation tensor are infinitesimal.

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