Past exam of the elasticity and plasticity course of the University of Oxford / 2010 / 1 / a / Solution

The displacement follows a material point from its reference position to its current position:The deformation gradient is the Jacobian matrix $F=\partial \mathbf{x}/\partial \mathbf{X}=I+{\nabla }_X\mathbf{u}$, and the volume Jacobian isFor an orientation-preserving physical deformation, $J>0$ measures the local volume expansion factor. Incompressibility requires $J=1$; conservation of mass gives $\rho (\mathbf{x},t)J={\rho }_0(\mathbf{X})$. For small displacement gradients, $J=1+{\nabla }_X\cdot \mathbf{u}+O(|{\nabla }_X\mathbf{u}{|}^2)$. If a spatial representation is desired, the same displacement is $\mathbf{u}(\mathbf{x},t)=\mathbf{x}-\mathbf{X}(\mathbf{x},t)$.