The theory of micropolar thin elastic shells

A boundary-value problem of the three-dimensional micropolar, asymmetric, moment theory of elasticity with free rotation is investigated in the case of a thin shell. It is assumed that the general stress-strain state (SSS) is comprised of an internal SSS and boundary layers. An asymptotic method of integrating a three-dimensional boundary-value problem of the micropolar theory of elasticity with free rotation is used for their approximate determination. Three different asymptotics are constructed for this problem, depending on the values of the dimensionless physical parameters. The initial approximation for the first asymptotics leads to the theory of micropolar shells with free rotation, the approximation for the second leads to the theory of micropolar shells with constrained rotation and the approximation for the third asymptotics leads to the so-called theory of micropolar shells "with a small shear stiffness". Micropolar boundary layers are constructed. The problem of the matching of the internal problem and the boundary-layer solutions is investigated. The two-dimensional boundary conditions for the above-mentioned theories of micropolar shells are determined. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.