Generalised homogenisation procedures for granular materials

Engineering materials are generally non-homogeneous, yet standard continuum descriptions of such materials are admissible, provided that the size of the non-homogeneities is much smaller than the characteristic length of the deformation pattern. If this is not the case, either the individual non-homogeneities have to be described explicitly or the range of applicability of the continuum concept is extended by including additional variables or degrees of freedom. In the paper the discrete nature of granular materials is modelled in the simplest possible way by means of finite-difference equations. The difference equations may be homogenised in two ways: the simplest approach is to replace the finite differences by the corresponding Taylor expansions. This leads to a Cosserat continuum theory. A more sophisticated strategy is to homogenise the equations by means of a discrete Fourier transformation. The result is a Kunin-type non-local theory. In the following these theories are analysed by considering a model consisting of independent periodic 1D chains of solid spheres connected by shear translational and rotational springs. It is found that the Cosserat theory offers a healthy balance between accuracy and simplicity. Kunin's integral homogenisation theory leads to a non-local Cosserat continuum description that yields an exact solution, but does not offer any real simplification in the solution of the model equations as compared to the original discrete system. The rotational degree of freedom affects the phenomenology of wave propagation considerably. When the rotation is suppressed, only one type of wave, viz. a shear wave, exists. When the restriction on particle rotation is relaxed, the velocity of this wave decreases and another, high velocity wave arises

Dynamic problems for metamaterials: Review of existing models and ideas for further research

Metamaterials are materials especially engineered to have a peculiar physical behaviour, to be exploited for some well-specified technological application. In this context we focus on the conception of general micro-structured continua, with particular attention to piezoelectromechanical structures, having a strong coupling between macroscopic motion and some internal degrees of freedom, which may be electric or, more generally, related to some micro-motion. An interesting class of problems in this context regards the design of wave-guides aimed to control wave propagation. The description of the state of the art is followed by some hints addressed to describe some possible research developments and in particular to design optimal design techniques for bone reconstruction or systems which may block wave propagation in some frequency ranges, in both linear and non-linear fields. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Multi-field approach in mechanics of structural solids

We overview the basic concepts, models, and methods related to the multi-field continuum theory of solids with complex structures. The multi-field theory is formulated for structural solids by introducing a macrocell consisting of several primitive cells and, accordingly, by increasing the number of vector fields describing the response of the body to external factors. Using this approach, we obtain several continuum models and explore their essential properties by comparison with the original structural models. Static and dynamical problems as well as the stability problems for structural solids are considered. We demonstrate that the multi-field approach gives a way to obtain families of models that generalize classical ones and are valid not only for long-, but also for short-wavelength deformations of the structural solid. Some examples of application of the multi-field theory and directions for its further development are also discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figure

Anisotropic and dispersive wave propagation within strain-gradient framework

In this paper anisotropic and dispersive wave propagation within linear strain-gradient elasticity is investigated. This analysis reveals significant features of this extended theory of continuum elasticity. First, and contrarily to classical elasticity, wave propagation in hexagonal (chiral or achiral) lattices becomes anisotropic as the frequency increases. Second, since strain-gradient elasticity is dispersive, group and energy velocities have to be treated as different quantities. These points are first theoretically derived, and then numerically experienced on hexagonal chiral and achiral lattices. The use of a continuum model for the description of the high frequency behavior of these microstructured materials can be of great interest in engineering applications, allowing problems with complex geometries to be more easily treated

Modélisation des murs en maçonnerie sous sollicitations sismiques

Developed. The method is based on the two-dimensional micropolar continuum theory and makes use of the kinematic approach of limit analysis in conjunction with a rigorous homogenization technique. The method is introduced in a general way, with regard to the genericclass of discrete periodic media made of particles of the same type. The case of masonry is presented as application. The homogenised strength domains of masonry columns and walls are retrieved in terms of the generalized stresses and couple stresses of the Cosserat continuum. The formulation of the method based on the Cosserat continuum enables the investigation of the influence of the relative rotation of the particles on the strength of the discrete medium. This influence is illustrated by the application to masonry structures, in comparison with other methods presented in the literature. The development of the homogenisation method continues with its extension to discrete periodic media made of particles disposed along three directions and showing three periodicity vectors. In this case, the approach relies on the three-dimensional micropolar theory. This enables to capture the three-dimensional effect of the relative translations and rotations of the particles constituting the discrete medium. The application to masonry columns and walls shows how the in-plane and out-of-plane actions result coupled in the assessment of masonry strength. The relative rotation of the blocks accentuates this effect, which consistently diminishes the in-plane strength. Masonry walls are finally ascribed to homogenised plates with Cosserat kinematics. A finite element formulation for Cosserat plate models is next developed. The formulation is first presented for elasticity and dynamics. The validation of a specific finite element is made by means of numerical benchmarks and patch tests. The actual use of the element is presented in an application to masonry structures. The natural frequencies of a masonry panel modelled by discrete elements are computed and compared with those given by a homogenisation model implemented in the element. This allows to investigate the role of the in-plane rotations of the blocks and to show their implication towards seismic analyses of masonry structures. The finite element formulation is next extended to the elastoplastic framework. The implementation of the multisurface plasticity theory into the Cosserat finite element is presented. The implementation of this theory is based on a projection algorithm. An important limitation of the classical implementation of this algorithm prevents its use in the framework of multisurface plasticity in efficient way. This limitation is discussed and a solution strategy is proposed. The finite element for Cosserat plate models is finally validated through numerous numerical benchmarks. In conclusion, three different modelling approaches for masonry are proposed and comviipared. A continuum model based on the Cosserat continuum is first presented. The model isconstructed by implementing the homogenised yield criteria computed based on the proposed analytical method into the developed finite element. A homogenisation model based on Cauchy continuum is next introduced. This model is constructed by selecting appropriate constitutive laws and yield criteria from the literature. The performance of those homogenisation models in representing the elastoplastic response of a masonry panel is discussed, based on the comparison with a third analogue discrete elements model. The capability of the three models in predicting the scale effect in the formation of failure mechanisms is investigated in a practical application to masonry structuresDans un premier temps, la méthode est présentée pour le cas bidimensionnel. La méthode est introduite de manière générale, en ce qui concerne les milieux discrets périodiques. L’application à la maçonnerie est ensuite abordée. La résistance homogénéisée de colonnes et murs de maçonnerie est calculée en termes de contraintes et couples-contraintes généralisées du milieu continu de Cosserat. La formulation d’une méthode basée sur le milieu de Cosserat permet la prise en compte de l’influence de la rotation relative des particules du milieu discret. Cette influence est mise en évidence à travers l’application à la maçonnerie, en comparaison avec les autres méthodes présentes dans la littérature. Dans un deuxième temps, la méthode est étendue au cas tridimensionnel. Des milieux discrets périodiques ayant leurs particules disposées le long de trois directions spatiales et montrant trois vecteurs de périodicité sont alors considérés. L’extension de la méthode s’inscrit dans le cadre de la théorie micropolaire tridimensionnelle. Cela permet la prise en compte des effets 3Dde la translation et la rotation relative des particules. L’application aux colonnes et aux murs de maçonnerie montre comment la résistance dans le plan et hors-plan de la maçonnerie sont, par ces effets, couplées. La rotation relative des blocs accentue cette interaction, qui comporte une diminution de la résistance dans-le-plan précédemment calculée. Les murs de maçonnerie sont ici décrits par des modèles de plaque micropolaire. Une formulation aux éléments finis pour des modèles de plaque micropolaire est ensuite développée. Dans un premier temps, la formulation est présentée pour l’élasticité et la dynamique. La validation d’un élément fini spécifique pour le calcul des structures est faite à l’aide d’exemples numériques. L’utilisation de cet élément sur des structures de maçonnerie est ensuite abordée, par l’implémentation d’un modèle d’homogénéisation déjà existant. Les fréquences fondamentales d’un mur maçonné sont ainsi calculées et comparées avec celle obtenues par un modèles aux éléments discrets. L’importance des rotations des blocs dans le plan du mur ainsi que leur participation dans la réponse inertielle du mur vis-à-vis des actions sismiques sont enfin investiguées. Dans un deuxième temps, la formulation aux élements finis est étendue à la plasticité, à travers l’implémentation de la théorie multi-critère pour les milieux de Cosserat. L’implémentation de cette théorie est basée sur un algorithme de projection, dont le schéma itératif de résolution est reporté. Les aspects numériques reliés à l’implémentation de l’algorithme sont examinés. Une importante limitation de l’implémentation classique de l’algoritme est montrée et une nouvelle stratégie de solution est proposée. L’élément fini de Cosserat est donc validé pour la plasticite à l’aide de nombreux exemples numériques. En conclusion, trois approches de modélisation pour les structures de maçonnerie sont proposéeset comparées. Un model continu d’homogénéisation basée sur le milieu de Cosserat est d’abord présenté. Le modèle est construit en introduisant les critères de ruptures homogénéisés calculés dans la première partie du travail dans l’élément fini développé dans la deuxième partie du travail. Un modèle continu basée sur le milieu de Cauchy est ensuite considéré. Ce denier est construit à partir de modèles déjà présents dans la littérature. L’efficacité de ces deux modèles est examinée dans la représentation du comportement élastoplastique d’un mur de maçonnerie. Leur comparaison se base sur un troisième modèle, crée à l’aide des éléments discrets. La capacité des trois modèles de modéliser l’effet d’échelle dans la formation des mécanismes de ruine est enfin investiguée sur une application pratique aux structures de maçonneri

On near-cloaking for linear elasticity

We make precise some results on the cloaking of displacement fields in linear elasticity. In the spirit of transformation media theory, the transformed governing equations in Cosserat and Willis frameworks are shown to be equivalent to certain high contrast small defect problems for the usual Navier equations. We discuss near-cloaking for elasticity systems via a regularized transform and perform numerical experiments to illustrate our near-cloaking results. We also study the sharpness of the estimates from [H. Ammari, H. Kang, K. Kim and H. Lee, J. Diff. Eq. 254, 4446-4464 (2013)], wherein the convergence of the solutions to the transmission problems is investigated, when the Lam\'e parameters in the inclusion tend to extreme values. Both soft and hard inclusion limits are studied and we also touch upon the finite frequency case. Finally, we propose an approximate isotropic cloak algorithm for a symmetrized Cosserat cloak.Comment: 7 figures, 7 tables; Note that the earlier version of this preprint was titled 'Some results in near-cloaking for elasticity systems'. This new version of the manuscript has also seen some major upgrade. We have added a new section on 'Cloaking parameters and isotropic approximation'. In there, we propose an approximate isotropic cloak algorithm for a symmetrized Cosserat cloa

Nonlinear multi-scale homogenization with different structural models at different scales

We present an extension of the computational homogenization theory to cases where different structural models are used at different scales and no energy potential can be defined at the small scale. We observe that volumetric averaging, which is not applicable in such cases unless similarities exist in the macro-scale and micro-scale models, is not a necessary prerequisite to carry out computational homogenization. At each material point of the macro-model, we replace the conventional representative volume element with a representative domain element (RDE). To link the large-scale and small-scale problems, we then introduce a linear operator, mapping the smooth part of the small-scale displacement field of each RDE to the large-scale strain field and a trace operator to impose boundary conditions in the RDE. The latter is defined on the basis of engineering judgement, analogously to the conventional theory. A generalized Hill’s condition, rather than being invoked, is derived from duality principles and is used to recover the stress measures at the large scale. For the implementation in a nonlinear finite-element analysis, ‘control nodes’ and constraint equationsare used. The effectiveness of the procedure is demonstrated for three beam-to-truss example problems, for which multi-scale convergence is numerically analysed.Lloyd’s Register EME

Numerical homogenisation of micromorphic media

Due to their underlying microtopology, cellular materials are known to show a complex mechanical behaviour. For the material modelling, the heterogeneous microcontinuum is commonly replaced by a homogeneous macrocontinuum involving extended kinematics. An appropriate homogenisation methodology will be introduced in order to replace a heterogeneous Cauchy microcontinuum by a homogeneous micromorphic macrocontinuum. For an artificial 2-D periodic microstructure, the present contribution draws a comparison between extended two-scale calculations on the one hand, and a reference solution as well as a first-order FE2 calculation on the other hand

Effective elastic properties of planar SOFCs: A non-local dynamic homogenization approach

The focus of the article is on the analysis of effective elastic properties of planar Solid Oxide Fuell Cell (SOFC) devices. An ideal periodic multi-layered composite (SOFC-like) reproducing the overall properties of multi-layer SOFC devices is defined. Adopting a non-local dynamic homogenization method, explicit expressions for overall elastic moduli and inertial terms of this material are derived in terms of micro-fluctuation functions. These micro-fluctuation function are then obtained solving the cell problems by means of finite element techniques. The effects of the temperature variation on overall elastic and inertial properties of the fuel cells are studied. Dispersion relations for acoustic waves in SOFC-like multilayered materials are derived as functions of the overall constants, and the results obtained by the proposed computational homogenization approach are compared with those provided by rigorous Floquet-Boch theory. Finally, the influence of the temperature and of the elastic properties variation on the Bloch spectrum is investigated