复合材料周期结构数学均匀化方法的一种新型单胞边界条件

数学均匀化方法是计算周期复合材料结构的有效方法之一,单胞边界条件施加的合理性直接决定了影响函数控制方程的计算效率和精度,进而影响均匀化弹性参数和摄动位移的计算精度.本文首先将单胞影响函数作为虚拟位移处理,给出了单胞在结构中真实的边界条件,结果表明,四边固支适合作为二维结构单胞边界条件;其次,针对二维结构提出了超单胞周期边界条件,有效提高了影响函数的计算精度,并使用与虚拟位移相对应的虚拟势能泛函验证超单胞周期边界条件的有效性;最后,利用数值分析验证多尺度渐进展开方法的计算精度,强调了二阶摄动的必要性.     

Using strain energy-based prediction of effective elastic properties in topology optimization of material microstructures

An alternative strain energy method is proposed for the prediction of effective elastic properties of orthotropic materials in this paper. The method is implemented in the topology optimization procedure to design cellular solids. A comparative study is made between the strain energy method and the well-known homogenization method. Numerical results show that both methods agree well in the numerical prediction and sensitivity analysis of effective elastic tensor when homogeneous boundary conditions are properly specified. Two dimensional and three dimensional microstructures are optimized for maximum stiffness designs by combining the proposed method with the dual optimization algorithm of convex programming. Satisfactory results are obtained for a variety of design cases. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10372083, 90405016), 973 Program (2006CB601205) and the Aeronautical Science Foundation (04B53080). The English text was polished by Keren Wang.     

Strain gradient elastic homogenization of bidimensional cellular media

The present paper aims at introducing an homogenization scheme for the determination of strain gradient elastic coefficients. This scheme is based on a quadratic extension of homogeneous boundary condition (HBC). It allows computing strain elastic effective tensors. This easy-to-handle computational procedure will then be used to construct overall behaviors and to verify some theoretical predictions on strain gradient elasticity.     

Homogenization scheme for brittle intergranular decohesion in polycrystalline aggregates

The overall fracture behaviour of polycrystalline aggregates is strongly conditioned by intergranular failure, as is the case in copper alloys subjected to dynamic embrittlement. The self-consistent scheme is extended to account for grain boundary decohesion using a nonlinear cohesive law. The effective tensile response up to failure is computed for a Cu–Ni–Si alloy based on the homogenization method. In particular, the proposed approach allows for identification of the grain boundary critical energy release rate from the macroscopic tensile curve.     

A nonlinear homogenization procedure for periodic masonry

The present paper deals with the problem of the determination of the in-plane behavior of masonry material. The masonry is considered as a composite material composed by a regular distribution of blocks connected by horizontal and vertical mortar joints. The overall constitutive relationships of the regular masonry are derived by a rational micromechanical and homogenization procedure. Linear elastic constitutive relationship is considered for the blocks, while a new special nonlinear constitutive law is proposed for the mortar joints. In particular, a mortar constitutive law, which accounts for the coupling of the damage and friction phenomena occurring during the loading history, is proposed; the developed model is based on an original micromechanical analysis of the damage process of the mortar joint. Then, an effective nonlinear homogenization procedure, representing the main novelty of the paper, is proposed; it is based on the transformation field analysis, using the technique of the superposition of the effects and the finite element method. The presented methodology is implemented in a numerical code. Finally, numerical applications are performed in order to assess the performances of the proposed procedure in reproducing the mechanical behavior of masonry material.     

Mindlin second-gradient elastic properties from dilute two-phase Cauchy-elastic composites. Part I: Closed form expression for the effective higher-order constitutive tensor

It is shown that second-order homogenization of a Cauchy-elastic dilute suspension of randomly distributed inclusions yields an equivalent second gradient (Mindlin) elastic material. This result is valid for both plane and three-dimensional problems and extends earlier findings by Bigoni and Drugan [Bigoni, D., Drugan, W.J., 2007. Analytical derivation of Cosserat moduli via homogenization of heterogeneous elastic materials. J. Appl. Mech. 74, 741–753] from several points of view: (i) the result holds for anisotropic phases with spherical or circular ellipsoid of inertia; (ii) the displacement boundary conditions considered in the homogenization procedure is independent of the characteristics of the material; (iii) a perfect energy match is found between heterogeneous and equivalent materials (instead of an optimal bound). The constitutive higher-order tensor defining the equivalent Mindlin solid is given in a surprisingly simple formula. Applications, treatment of material symmetries and positive definiteness of the effective higher-order constitutive tensor are deferred to Part II of the present article.     

周期性点阵类桁架材料等效弹性性能预测及尺度效应

比较了Dirichlet型和Neumann型边界条件下的代表体元法及均匀化方法对具有周期性结构的点阵类桁架材料等效弹性性能的预测结果．数值结果表明,Dirichlet型和Neumann型边界条件下的代表体元法所得结果随着参与模拟的单胞（微结构的最小周期）个数的增加,分别从上下界逼近均匀化方法的结果．对于一类具有特殊微结构的桁架材料,只需一个单胞即可充分逼近均匀化结果．指出产牛尺度效应的判据是,对Dirichlet型边界条件下的代表体元法,单胞公共边界处的节点支反力是否平衡;对Neumann型边界条件下的代表体元法,单胞边界间变形是否协调．最后,我们证明了对于一类均匀化方法求解中没有广义自由度的桁架材料,其均匀化结果就是各构件性能按照体积份数加权平均得到．     

Two-step homogenization for the effective thermal conductivities of twisted multi-filamentary superconducting strand

For the accurate prediction of the effective thermal conductivities of the twisted multi-filamentary superconducting strand, a two-step homogenization method is adopted. Based on the distribution of filaments, the superconducting strand can be decomposed into a set of concentric cylinder layers. Each layer is a two-phase composite composed of the twisted filaments and copper matrix. In the first step of homogenization, the representative volume element (RVE) based finite element (FE) homogenization method with the periodic boundary condition (PBC) is adopted to evaluate the effective thermal conductivities of each layer. In the second step of homogenization, the generalized self-consistent method is used to obtain the effective thermal conductivities of all the concentric cylinder layers. The accuracy of the developed model is validated by comparing with the local and full-field FE simulation. Finally, the effects of the twist pitch on the effective thermal conductivities of twisted multi-filamentary superconducting strand are studied.     

考虑内部胞元能量等效的代表体元法

具有周期性胞元的超轻质材料在制造和应用过程中,不可避免地会出现基体材料、微结构拓扑和尺寸的随机性变化.此时,评价材料的等效弹性性能需要借助基于均匀化方法(周期性边界条件)或代表体元法(周期性边界条件,均匀应力或均匀应变边界条件等)的蒙特卡洛模拟.该文首先通过算例分析和比较了不同边界条件下的数值结果,讨论了结果的尺度效应和对胞元选取的依赖性.为了提高和改善Dirichlet边界条件下的计算效率和结果,提出了一种考虑内部胞元能量等效的代表体元法.该方法能够有效削弱边界条件和胞元选取的影响,从而实现了采用较小的代表体元得到更好的结果.数值算例验证了方法在预测确定性材料和随机性材料等效模量时的有效性.     

Effective elastic moduli of triangular lattice material with defects

This paper presents an attempt to extend homogenization analysis for the effective elastic moduli of triangular lattice materials with microstructural defects. The proposed homogenization method adopts a process based on homogeneous strain boundary conditions, the micro-scale constitutive law and the micro-to-macro static operator to establish the relationship between the macroscopic properties of a given lattice material to its micro-discrete behaviors and structures. Further, the idea behind Eshelby’s equivalent eigenstrain principle is introduced to replace a defect distribution by an imagining displacement field (eigendisplacement) with the equivalent mechanical effect, and the triangular lattice Green's function technique is developed to solve the eigendisplacement field. The proposed method therefore allows handling of different types of microstructural defects as well as its arbitrary spatial distribution within a general and compact framework. Analytical closed-form estimations are derived, in the case of the dilute limit, for all the effective elastic moduli of stretch-dominated triangular lattices containing fractured cell walls and missing cells, respectively. Comparison with numerical results, the Hashin–Shtrikman upper bounds and uniform strain upper bounds are also presented to illustrate the predictive capability of the proposed method for lattice materials. Based on this work, we propose that not only the effective Young’s and shear moduli but also the effective Poisson’s ratio of triangular lattice materials depend on the number density of fractured cell walls and their spatial arrangements.     

Multiscale modeling of a fluid saturated medium with double porosity: Relevance to the compact bone

In this paper, we develop a model of a homogenized fluid-saturated deformable porous medium. To account for the double porosity the Biot model is considered at the mesoscale with a scale-dependent permeability in compartments representing the second-level porosity. This model is treated by the homogenization procedure based on the asymptotic analysis of periodic “microstructure”. When passing to the limit, auxiliary microscopic problems are introduced, which provide the corrector basis functions that are needed to compute the effective material parameters. The macroscopic problem describes the deformation-induced Darcy flow in the primary porosities whereas the microflow in the double porosity is responsible for the fading memory effects via the macroscopic poro-visco-elastic constitutive law. For the homogenization procedure, we use the periodic unfolding method. We discuss also the stress and flow recovery at multiple scales characterizing the heterogeneous material. The model is proposed as a theoretical basis to describe compact bone behavior on multiple scales.     

Effective characteristics of fiber composites in the linear moment theory of elasticity

A special boundary value problem whose solution is used to determine the effective characteristics in the linear moment theory of elasticity is considered. A procedure of finding the effective characteristics is proposed by the example of a fiber composite whose matrix and inclusions are isotropic. The boundary effects of structure functions are also discussed.     

A macroscopic model for materials reinforced by flexible membranes

A macroscopic model is presented aimed at assessing the macroscopic elastic behaviour of materials reinforced by periodically distributed flexible membranes. According to this model, called multiphase model, the reinforced material is described not as a single homogenized continuum as in the classical homogenization approach, but as the superposition of two mutually interacting continuous media, namely the matrix phase and the reinforcement phase. It is shown in particular how such a model allows to capture both scale and boundary effects, which cannot be accounted for in a classical homogenization procedure.     

Objective evaluation of linearization procedures in nonlinear homogenization: A methodology and some implications on the accuracy of micromechanical schemes

A systematic methodology for an accurate evaluation of various existing linearization procedures sustaining mean fields theories for nonlinear composites is proposed and applied to recent homogenization methods. It relies on the analysis of a periodic composite for which an exact resolution of both the original nonlinear homogenization problem and the linear homogenization problems associated with the chosen linear comparison composite (LCC) with an identical microstructure is possible. The effects of the sole linearization scheme can then be evaluated without ambiguity. This methodology is applied to three different two-phase materials in which the constitutive behavior of at least one constituent is nonlinear elastic (or viscoplastic): a reinforced composite, a material in which both phases are nonlinear and a porous material. Comparisons performed on these three materials between the considered homogenization schemes and the reference solution bear out the relevance and the performances of the modified second-order procedure introduced by Ponte Castañeda in terms of prediction of the effective responses. However, under the assumption that the field statistics (first and second moments) are given by the local fields in the LCC, all the recent nonlinear homogenization procedures still fail to provide an accurate enough estimate of the strain statistics, especially for composites with high contrast.     

Effective Diffusion Coefficient: From Homogenization to Experiment

In this paper, an example of the application of the homogenization approach (asymptotic expansion technique) to predict the effective diffusion coefficient for an equivalent continuum, together with the experimental verification of the theoretical results is presented. The experimental setup was constructed for the measurements of diffusion in a model periodic porous medium made of Plexiglas. The computer program using the FEM was elaborated to solve the local boundary value problem for a period and to calculate the effective diffusion coefficient. The comparison between the theory and the experiment indicates good agreement between the numerical and experimental values of the effective diffusion coefficient. Interpretation of the test data from the point of view of the homogenization theory is also incorporated.     

A second strain gradient elasticity theory with second velocity gradient inertia – Part I: Constitutive equations and quasi-static behavior

A multi-cell homogenization procedure with four geometrically different groups of cell elements (respectively for the bulk, the boundary surface, the edge lines and the corner points of a body) is envisioned, which is able not only to extract the effective constitutive properties of a material, but also to assess the “surface effects” produced by the boundary surface on the near bulk material. Applied to an unbounded material in combination with the thermodynamics energy balance principles, this procedure leads to an equivalent continuum constitutively characterized by (ordinary, double and triple) generalized stresses and momenta. Also, applying this procedure to a (finite) body suitably modelled as a simple material cell system, in association with the principle of the virtual power (PVP) for quasi-static actions, an equivalent structural system is derived, featured by a (macro-scale) PVP having the typical format as for a second strain gradient material model. Due to the surface effects, the latter model does work as a combination of two subsystems, i.e. the bulk material behaving as a Cauchy continuum, and the boundary surface operating as a membrane-like boundary layer, each subsystem being in (local and global) equilibrium by its own. Further, the applied (ordinary) boundary traction splits into two (response-dependent) parts, i.e. the “Cauchy traction” transmitted to the bulk material and the “Gurtin–Murdoch traction” acting, together with all other boundary tractions, upon the boundary layer. The role of the boundary layer as a two-dimensional manifold enclosing a Cauchy continuum is elucidated, also with the aid of a discrete model. A strain gradient elasticity theory is proposed which includes a minimum total potential energy principle featuring the relevant boundary-value problem for quasi-static loads and its (unique) solution. A simple application is presented. Two appendices are included, one reports the proof of the global equilibrium of the boundary layer, the other is concerned with double and triple stresses. The paper is complemented by a companion Part II one on dynamics. Previous findings by the author [Polizzotto, C., 2012. A gradient elasticity theory for second-grade materials and higher order inertia. Int. J. Solids Struct. 49, 2121–2137] are improved and extended.     

多孔格栅均匀化模型平压仿真分析

为了研究均匀化方法在一种多孔格栅结构中的应用,从格栅单胞尺度入手,建立了一种适用于有限元仿真分析的三维周期性边界条件.以ABAQUS作为分析平台,对周期性边界条件下的格栅单胞模型进行了平压仿真分析,并将仿真结果与文献实验结果对比,验证了该边界条件的可靠性.利用均匀化理论建立了格栅单胞力学平衡方程,得到了格栅均匀化模型....     

A micromechanics-based strain gradient damage model for fracture prediction of brittle materials – Part I: Homogenization methodology and constitutive relations

In this paper, we first describe a homogenization methodology with the aim of establishing strain gradient constitutive relations for heterogeneous materials. The methodology presented in this work includes two main steps. The first one is the construction of the average strain-energy density for a well-chosen RVE by using a homogenization technique. The second one is the transformation of the obtained average strain-energy density to that for the continuum. An important characteristic of this method is its self-consistency with respect to the choice of the RVE: the strain gradient constitutive law built by using the present method is independent of the size and the form of the RVE. In the frame of this homogenization procedure, we have constructed a strain gradient constitutive relation for a two-dimensional elastic material with many microcracks by adopting the self-consistent scheme. It was shown that the effective behavior of cracked solids depends not only on the crack density but also on the average crack size with which the strain gradient is associated. The proposed constitutive relation provides a starting point for the development of an evolution law of damage including strain gradient effect, which will be presented in the second part of this work.