Abstract
A continuum electromechanical description of electrorheological materials in their solid phase is proposed. This solid phase of the suspension is obtained when an adequate electric field is applied. The main effect concerns the presence of a prestressed state and we are interested in the reversible behavior of the media under mechanical and electrical loadings in the frame of small pertubation theory. A linearization formalism is developed and the role of the prestressed state is assessed. The point of view presented here is a special case of "Elastic Dielectrics" introduced by Eringen and Maugin; it is different from the study of Klingenberg who considers the solid phase without electric field and unstressed in its initial configuration, the main effect described being electrostriction.
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