Second-order homogenization estimates for nonlinear composites incorporating field fluctuations: II—applications

In Part I of this work, an improved “second-order” homogenization theory was developed. This new theory makes use of generalized secant moduli that are intermediate between the standard secant and tangent moduli of the nonlinear phases, and that depend not only on the averages, or first-moments of the fields in the phases, but also on the second-moments of the field fluctuations, or phase covariance tensors. In this article, the theory, which is known to be exact to second-order in the heterogeneity contrast, is applied to the special cases of rigidly reinforced and porous materials. These are cases corresponding to infinite contrast where fairly explicit analytical expressions of the Hashin-Shtrikman and self-consistent-type may be generated for nonlinear composites. The results show that the new theory improves on the earlier theory (Ponte Castañeda, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 44 (1996) 827) in at least two ways. First, the new theory satisfies rigorous bounds, even near the percolation limit, where field fluctuations become important, and the earlier second-order theory had been found to fail. Second, the new theory predicts fully compressible behavior for porous materials with an incompressible matrix phase, where the earlier theory had also been found to fail. In addition, the new estimates are found to be in better agreement with numerical simulations available from the literature.