• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.59-71
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• 2012

A volume integral equation method (VIEM) is introduced for the solution of elastostatic problems in unbounded isotropic elastic solids containing multiple interacting isotropic or anisotropic diamond-shaped inclusions subject to remote uniaxial tension. The method is applied to two-dimensional problems involving long parallel diamond-shaped cylindrical inclusions. A detailed analysis of the stress field at the interface between the matrix and the central inclusion is carried out for square and hexagonal packing of the inclusions. The effects of the number of isotropic or anisotropic diamond-shaped inclusions and of the various fiber volume fractions for the circular inclusions circumscribing its respective diamond-shaped inclusion on the stress field at the interface between the matrix and the central inclusion are also investigated in detail. The accuracy and efficiency of the method are examined through comparison with results obtained using the finite element method.