ElAM: A computer program for the analysis and representation of anisotropic elastic properties

Abstract

The continuum theory of elasticity has been used for more than a century and has applications in many fields of science and engineering. It is very robust, well understood and mathematically elegant. In the isotropic case elastic properties are obviously easily represented. However, for nonisotropic materials, even in the simple cubic symmetry, it can be difficult to visualise how, for instance, the Young’s modulus or Poisson’s ration vary with stress/strains orientation. The ElAM code carries out the required tensorial operations (inversion, rotation, diagonalisation) and creates 3D models of an elastic property’s anisotropy. It can also produces 2D cuts in any given plane, compute averages following diverse schemes and query a database of elastic constants.