Stress concentration around a nano-scale spherical cavity in elastic media: Effect of surface stress

Influence of surface effect on stress concentration around a spherical cavity in a linearly isotropic elastic medium is studied on the basis of continuum surface elasticity. Following Goodier's work, a close form solution of the elastic field created by biaxial uniform load is presented. The stress concentration factors under different load combinations are obtained. It is concluded that consideration of surface effect leads to dependence of stress concentration factors on cavity size. Besides, numerical result indicates that stress concentration factors around the cavity are mainly affected by residual surface tension. The result is significant in the understanding of relevant mechanical phenomena in solids with nano-sized cavities. © 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.