# Symmetric div-quasiconvexity and the relaxation of static problems

## TL;DR

This paper introduces symmetric div-quasiconvexity as a key condition for the relaxation of static equilibrium problems, characterizing the relaxed elastic domain explicitly for isotropic materials and revealing non-convexity can still allow for solutions.

## Contribution

It establishes symmetric div-quasiconvexity as a necessary and sufficient condition for lower-semicontinuity and explicitly characterizes the relaxed elastic domain in plasticity problems.

## Key findings

- Symmetric div-quasiconvexity is crucial for the relaxation of static problems.
- The relaxed elastic domain can be explicitly characterized for isotropic materials.
- Convexity of the elastic domain is not necessary for the existence of solutions.

## Abstract

We consider problems of static equilibrium in which the primary unknown is the stress field and the solutions maximize a complementary energy subject to equilibrium constraints. A necessary and sufficient condition for the sequential lower-semicontinuity of such functionals is symmetric ${\rm div}$-quasiconvexity, a special case of Fonseca and M\"uller's $A$-quasiconvexity with $A = {\rm div}$ acting on $R^{n\times n}_{sym}$. We specifically consider the example of the static problem of plastic limit analysis and seek to characterize its relaxation in the non-standard case of a non-convex elastic domain. We show that the symmetric ${\rm div}$-quasiconvex envelope of the elastic domain can be characterized explicitly for isotropic materials whose elastic domain depends on pressure $p$ and Mises effective shear stress $q$. The envelope then follows from a rank-$2$ hull construction in the $(p,q)$-plane. Remarkably, owing to the equilibrium constraint the relaxed elastic domain can still be strongly non-convex, which shows that convexity of the elastic domain is not a requirement for existence in plasticity.