6533b838fe1ef96bd12a3b24

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Mohr-cyclides, a 3D representation of geological tensors: The examples of stress and flow

Cees W. PasschierSara Coelho

subject

Stress (mechanics)Pure mathematicsRank (linear algebra)Flow (mathematics)Invariants of tensorsMohr's circleGeologyGeometryMaxwell stress tensorTensorPhysics::GeophysicsMathematicsPlane stress

description

Mohr-circles are commonly used to represent second-rank tensors in two dimensions. In geology, this mainly applies to stress, flow, strain and deformation. Three-dimensional second rank tensors have been represented by sets of three Mohr-circles, mainly in the application of stress. This paper demonstrates that three-dimensional second rank tensors can in fact be represented in a three-dimensional reference frame by Mohr surfaces, which are members of the cyclide family. Such Mohr-cyclides can be used to represent any second rank tensor and are exemplified with the stress and flow tensors.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2008-05-01Journal of Structural Geology
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2008.01.003