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Hookean Spring

Hookean Spring is a constitutive model for simulating linear elastic springs connecting two particles in 3D space.

#12 Hookean Spring

For a spring element connecting two particles at positions \(\mathbf{x}_0\) and \(\mathbf{x}_1\), we define:

Distance Vector:

\[ \mathbf{d} = \mathbf{x}_1 - \mathbf{x}_0 \]

Current Length:

\[ L = \|\mathbf{d}\|_2 \]

Strain:

\[ \epsilon = \frac{L - L_0}{L_0} \]

where \(L_0\) is the rest length of the spring.

Strain Energy Density

The strain energy of the Hookean spring is given by:

\[ E = \frac{\kappa}{2} \epsilon^2 = \frac{\kappa}{2} \left(\frac{L - L_0}{L_0}\right)^2 \]

Substituting the expressions for \(L\):

\[ E = \frac{\kappa}{2} \left(\frac{\|\mathbf{d}\|_2 - L_0}{L_0}\right)^2 \]

where:

  • \(\kappa\) is the spring constant (stiffness parameter)

  • \(L_0\) is the rest length of the spring

  • \(\mathbf{d}\) is the current displacement vector between the two particles