Asymptotic equivalence of homogenisation procedures and fine-tuning of continuum theories

Long-wave models obtained in the process of asymptotic homogenisation of structures with a characteristic length scale are known to be non-unique. The term non-uniqueness is used here in the sense that various homogenisation strategies may lead to distinct governing equations that usually, for a given order of the governing equation, approximate the original problem with the same asymptotic accuracy. A constructive procedure presented in this paper generates a class of asymptotically equivalent long-wave models from an original homogenised theory. The described non-uniqueness manifests itself in the occurrence of additional parameters characterising the model. A simple problem of long-wave propagation in a regular one-dimensional lattice structure is used to illustrate important criteria for selecting these parameters. The procedure is then applied to derive a class of continuum theories for a two-dimensional square array of particles. Applications to asymptotic structural theories are also discussed. In particular, we demonstrate how to improve the governing equation for the Rayleigh-Love rod and explain the reasons for the well-known numerical accuracy of the Mindlin plate theory

The limits of Hamiltonian structures in three-dimensional elasticity, shells, and rods

This paper uses Hamiltonian structures to study the problem of the limit of three-dimensional (3D) elastic models to shell and rod models. In the case of shells, we show that the Hamiltonian structure for a three-dimensional elastic body converges, in a sense made precise, to that for a shell model described by a one-director Cosserat surface as the thickness goes to zero. We study limiting procedures that give rise to unconstrained as well as constrained Cosserat director models. The case of a rod is also considered and similar convergence results are established, with the limiting model being a geometrically exact director rod model (in the framework developed by Antman, Simo, and coworkers). The resulting model may or may not have constraints, depending on the nature of the constitutive relations and their behavior under the limiting procedure. The closeness of Hamiltonian structures is measured by the closeness of Poisson brackets on certain classes of functions, as well as the Hamiltonians. This provides one way of justifying the dynamic one-director model for shells. Another way of stating the convergence result is that there is an almost-Poisson embedding from the phase space of the shell to the phase space of the 3D elastic body, which implies that, in the sense of Hamiltonian structures, the dynamics of the elastic body is close to that of the shell. The constitutive equations of the 3D model and their behavior as the thickness tends to zero dictates whether the limiting 2D model is a constrained or an unconstrained director model. We apply our theory in the specific case of a 3D Saint Venant-Kirchhoff material andderive the corresponding limiting shell and rod theories. The limiting shell model is an interesting Kirchhoff-like shell model in which the stored energy function is explicitly derived in terms of the shell curvature. For rods, one gets (with an additional inextensibility constraint) a one-director Kirchhoff elastic rod model, which reduces to the well-known Euler elastica if one adds an additional single constraint that the director lines up with the Frenet frame

Straight rod with different order of thickness

In this paper, we consider rods whose thickness vary linearly between \eps and \eps^2. Our aim is to study the asymptotic behavior of these rods in the framework of the linear elasticity. We use a decomposition method of the displacement fields of the form $u=U\_e + \bar{u}$, where $U\_e$ stands for the translation-rotations of the cross-sections and $\bar{u}$ is related to their deformations. We establish a priori estimates. Passing to the limit in a fixed domain gives the problems satisfied by the bending, the stretching and the torsion limit fields which are ordinary differential equations depending on weights.Comment: in Asymptotic Analysis, IOS Press, 201

Gaussian curvature as an identifier of shell rigidity

In the paper we deal with shells with non-zero Gaussian curvature. We derive sharp Korn's first (linear geometric rigidity estimate) and second inequalities on that kind of shells for zero or periodic Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin type boundary conditions. We prove that if the Gaussian curvature is positive, then the optimal constant in the first Korn inequality scales like $h,$ and if the Gaussian curvature is negative, then the Korn constant scales like $h^{4/3},$ where $h$ is the thickness of the shell. These results have classical flavour in continuum mechanics, in particular shell theory. The Korn first inequalities are the linear version of the famous geometric rigidity estimate by Friesecke, James and M\"uller for plates [14] (where they show that the Korn constant in the nonlinear Korn's first inequality scales like $h^2$), extended to shells with nonzero curvature. We also recover the uniform Korn-Poincar\'e inequality proven for "boundary-less" shells by Lewicka and M\"uller in [37] in the setting of our problem. The new estimates can also be applied to find the scaling law for the critical buckling load of the shell under in-plane loads as well as to derive energy scaling laws in the pre-buckled regime. The exponents $1$ and $4/3$ in the present work appear for the first time in any sharp geometric rigidity estimate.Comment: 25 page

The time-dependent von Kármán plate equation as a limit of 3D nonlinear elasticity

The asymptotic behaviour of the solutions of three-dimensional nonlinear elastodynamics in a thin plate is studied, as the thickness h of the plate tends to zero. Under appropriate scalings of the applied force and of the initial values in terms of h, it is shown that three-dimensional solutions of the nonlinear elastodynamic equation converge to solutions of the time-dependent von Kármán plate equation