Macrohomogeneity Condition Research Articles

Two‐scale computational homogenization of calcified hydrogels

The development of new type of hydrogels featuring enhanced properties is a recent topic and of particular interest for a wide range of industrial applications, especially in biomedical sector. The present contribution focuses on the mutliscale modeling of hydrogels that are treated by the enzymatic mineralization and thus enriched with calcium phosphate. More specifically, the calcium phosphate forms spherical or honeycomb structures in the hydrogel matrix, which significantly improves effective material properties such as stiffness and strength. The chosen multiscale finite element method (FEM) homogenization strategy uses the Hill–Mandel macrohomogeneity condition for bridging two scales: the macroscopic boundary value problem (BVP) simulates the specimen behavior, whereas the microscopic BVP investigates the representative volume element (RVE) depicting the heterogeneous multiphase microstructure. The approach proposed uses the Ogden model to simulate the hydrogel and the neo‐Hooke model for the calcium phosphate phase. It varies the RVE type and the macroscopic tests in order to study the influence of the microstructure on the effective behavior and uses experimental data to determine missing microscopic material parameters. Chosen numerical examples demonstrate the applicability of the numerical tool for the estimation of the optimal microscopic arrangement of phases.

Control of the piezoelectric and flexoelectric homogenized properties of architected materials by tuning their inner topology

The present contribution aims to study the effect the inner topology of periodic architected materials on their effective piezoelectric and flexoelectric properties. An analysis is performed to study the sensitivity of the effective flexoelectric moduli to the geometrical variables of the considered unit cells of periodic lattice materials. More specifically, hexagonal, re-entrant auxetic, and rectangular unit cells are investigated in terms of their relative piezoelectric and flexoelectric response. The base material obeys a piezoelectric behavior, and the homogenized electromechanical properties are evaluated using the extended Hill–Mandel macrohomogeneity condition articulated with variational principles in the context of periodic multiphysical homogenization. The developed modeling framework of coupled electromechanical phenomena accounts for the higher gradient effects modeled by flexoelectricity that are induced by the strong gradient of properties that exist at the microlevel of the lattice unit cell. Regular hexagonal, re-entrant hexagonal and rectangular lattice unit cells are mutually compared in terms of their flexoelectric properties. The regular hexagonal UC shows the highest piezoelectric moduli, whereas the flexoelectric moduli are found to be maximum for the re-entrant UC. The coupling between mechanical and electrical fields is attested by the non-uniform distribution of the electric potential within the three studied architected materials subjected to a uniform strain.

Analysis of surface effects based on first and second strain gradient mechanics

The present contribution provides an analysis of surface effects in the mechanical response of architected materials modeled in the framework of strain gradient mechanics. The classical and strain gradient properties are evaluated by relying on a dedicated discrete homogenization method to upscale the microstructural information towards an effective strain gradient continuum at the macroscopic level. The formulation of the strain gradient model formulated via Hill extended macrohomogeneity condition allows a proper surface expression of the effective strain gradient kinematic and static variables. The scaling law of the strain gradient moduli with the edge contribution is obtained from their closed-form expressions versus the lattice microstructural parameters, and recoursing to the notion of shape derivative. The sensitivity of the strain gradient moduli to the relative amount of bulk versus surface effects is evaluated, showing that absolute size effects are well captured by strain gradient moduli. The energetic formulation of a second strain gradient continuum allows to revisit the notion of anisotropic surface energy, thereby providing a generalization of Mindlin's model (Mindlin, 1965) of surface energy.

Continualization method of lattice materials and analysis of size effects revisited based on Cosserat models

The homogenized classical and higher-order mechanical properties of repetitive lattice materials are evaluated using Timoshenko beam models at a microlevel, and a continualization method towards a Cosserat homogenized substitution medium is applied. The proposed method combines a reduced number of degrees of freedom at a unit cell level with the continuous set of kinematic variables, which are representative of a Cosserat continuum at the macroscale. The homogenized classical and Cosserat moduli are obtained as closed-form expressions of the lattice microstructural and mechanical parameters for the specific case of honeycomb lattices. The proposed continualization method proves to be accurate and computationally efficient in comparison with fully resolved finite element simulations. One main hallmark of this paper is the quantification of edge effects in the response of lattice structures, relying on the surface formulation of the extended Hill macrohomogeneity condition. The bending moment to curvature relation involves a classical term and a micropolar bending moment, the importance of which is decreasing asymptotically up to a nil value by increasing the number of unit cells in the height of the macrostructure.

A computational homogenization framework for non-ordinary state-based peridynamics

Peridynamic theory has been shown to possess the capabilities of describing phenomena that theories based on partial differential equations are not capable of describing. These phenomena include nonlocal interactions and presence of singularities in system responses. To exploit the capabilities offered by peridynamics in the homogenization of heterogenous media, a nonlocal computational homogenization theory based on peridynamic correspondence model (non-ordinary state-based peridynamics) is proposed. To set the development of the theory on a rigorous mathematical framework and to ensure consistency with the nonlocal nature of the peridynamic theory, a nonlocal vector calculus was used in the analysis of the nonlocal homogenization theory. The proposed theory is a two-scale micro–macro-homogenization strategy in which the constitutive relation at the macroscale is derived from explicit solution of a nonlocal volume constraint problem at the microscale. To justify the coupling between the two scales, nonlocal analogues of the stress and strain average theorems as well as the Hill–Mandel macrohomogeneity condition were derived. Validation of the proposed theory is achieved via numerical solution of Representative Volume Elements (RVE) from composite materials and comparing the results with those obtained by means of established methodologies.

Variational formulation of dynamical homogenization towards nonlocal effective media

The dynamical homogenization of heterogeneous materials is performed in the low and high frequency regimes using a variational formulation of dynamical equilibrium combined with the Laplace or Fourier-Floquet-Bloch decomposition of the mechanical fields (displacement, velocity, momentum, stress). The assumed periodicity of the initial heterogeneous structure entails that the homogenization process can be carried out at the scale of a reference unit cell over which periodicity conditions apply. A dynamical Hill type macrohomogeneity condition is formulated that plays a central role in this work. The weak form of the unit cell dynamical equilibrium is formulated as the minimization of the mean field action integral expressed versus the Floquet components of the displacement and velocity. The effective dynamical moduli are evaluated in reciprocal space as unit cell averages of the microscopic properties and localization operators relating the local velocity and strain to their macroscopic counterpart. More specific dynamical models involving locality in space (thus valid for long wavelengths) but nonlocality in time (thus describing both low and high frequency regimes) are formulated, considering Cauchy type and strain gradient effective models. The range of validity of the developed dynamical generalized continuum theories is assessed by comparing the phase velocity-wavenumber plots for inclusion based composites with reference plots obtained from Bloch's theorem. The benchmark of dynamical models evidences that the nonlocal dynamical model proves able to predict with a good accuracy the dynamical behavior of 2D periodic inclusion based composites.

Wave propagation analysis in non-local flexoelectric composite materials

The effective flexoelectric properties of heterogeneous piezoelectric materials are computed in the context of periodic homogenization, whereby a variational formulation is developed, articulated with the extended Hill macro-homogeneity condition. This framework accounts for higher gradient effects that may be induced by a strong contrast of properties of the composite constituents. The obtained homogenized properties are employed for the determination of the wave propagation attributes of piezoelectric composites. The dynamic equilibrium equations, accounting for higher gradient effects, are formulated to deal with wave propagation in flexoelectric media, considering the Classical Flexoelectric Theory (CFE) and the Non-Local Flexoelectric Theory (NLFE). The obtained dispersion relations show that flexoelectric medium are dispersive medium. Furthermore, it can be observed that the flexoelectric medium becomes more anisotropic when increasing the wavenumber unlike the piezoelectric medium. The analysis of the influence of the nonlocality reveals that the frequency of propagating waves is decreasing when increasing the non-local parameter.

Construction of micromorphic continua by homogenization based on variational principles

The present contribution aims to revisit higher-order homogenization schemes towards micromorphic media based on variational principles and an extension of Hill macrohomogeneity condition. Starting from the microscopic Cauchy balance equations, the local balance equations of the micromorphic continuum are formulated, highlighting the micromorphic stress measures. Relying on both energy and complementary energy expressions combined with the extended Hill macrohomogeneity condition, the complete homogeneous microscopic displacement field representative of the effective micromorphic continuum is obtained as a quartic expansion of the macroscopic micromorphic kinematic variables. This procedure leads to a higher-grade micromorphic theory, with the relative stress and hyperstress tensors including respectively second-order and third order polynomials of the relative position within the unit cell. The microscopic displacement is completed by a fluctuating part evaluated from a variational principle and characterized by three unit cell boundary value problems. Numerical applications are done for inclusion based composite materials. The obtained results highlight that the higher-order moduli converge very quickly with unit cell size, due to the consideration of correction factors based on the higher-order moments of area.

A variational approach of homogenization of piezoelectric composites towards piezoelectric and flexoelectric effective media

The effective piezoelectric properties of heterogeneous materials are evaluated in the context of periodic homogenization, whereby a variational formulation is developed, articulated with the extended Hill macrohomogeneity condition. The entire set of homogenized piezoelectric moduli is obtained as the volumetric averages of the microscopic properties of the individual constituents weighted by the displacement and polarization localization operators. This framework is extended in a second part of the paper to the computation of the flexoelectric effective properties, thereby accounting for higher gradient effects that may be induced by a strong contrast of properties of the composite constituents. The effective properties of inclusion-based composites are evaluated numerically as an illustration of the general homogenization theory and the respective effect of the volume fraction and relative tensile modulus of the reinforcement is assessed numerically.

Macrohomogeneity condition for strain gradient homogenization of periodic heterogeneous media with interfacial strong discontinuities

The Hill macrohomogeneity condition is revisited in the context of strain gradient homogenization for heterogeneous materials prone to interfacial displacement jumps. The consideration of strain gradient effects is motivated by their use as a regularization method for strain-softening constitutive damage models leading to strain localization and displacement discontinuity. Starting from the weak form of the boundary value problem formulated at the microscopic level, a polynomial expression of the virtual velocity is adopted as the minimum microscopic kinematics consistent with the selected macroscopic kinematics of the strain gradient effective continuum. The effective volumetric and interfacial mesoscopic strains and stress measures for the effective substitution are obtained versus the microscopic strains and stresses. The Hill macrohomogeneity condition is successively formulated for continuous interfaces and discontinuous interfaces witnessing strong discontinuities. It highlights the expressions of the effective stress measures associated to the volumetric and interfacial behavior for both classical and higher-order effects.

Influence of boundary conditions on computation of the effective thermal conductivity of foams

Accurate numerical simulation of the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of 3D pore-scale foam models requires a judicious choice of boundary conditions, as the computational domains are often smaller than the representative volume element, giving rise to considerable edge effects. Within the finite element homogenization framework, a set of mixed boundary conditions are considered alongside the usual uniform and periodic boundary conditions. Validity criteria and order relations, demonstrated from entropy-based principles, are numerically verified on unit cell-based geometries, random virtual periodic foams, and non-periodic tomography-reconstructed foams of equivalent microstructure. A statistical treatment based on the integral range provides confidence intervals for the estimated ETC. For foam samples with random homogeneous porosity, the mixed boundary conditions are shown to fulfill the macrohomogeneity condition and thus provide thermodynamically valid ETC estimates. For periodic foams with irregular microstructure, the ETC is very slightly underestimated under the mixed boundary conditions. For non-periodic geometries, it is shown that periodic boundary conditions–commonly viewed as the reference–underestimate the ETC due to boundary geometry mismatch, while the mixed boundary conditions give a more accurate and precise estimate.

Homogenized elastic response of random fiber networks based on strain gradient continuum models

The purpose of this work is to develop anisotropic strain gradient linear elastic continuum models for two-dimensional random fiber networks. The constitutive moduli of the strain gradient equivalent continuum are assessed based on the response of the explicit network representation in so-called windows of analysis, in which each fiber is modeled as a beam and the fibers are connected at crossing points with welded joints. The principle of strain energy equivalence based on the extension to the strain gradient of the Hill–Mandel macro homogeneity condition is employed to identify the classical and strain gradient moduli, based on the application of a sequential set of polynomial displacements on windows of analysis of different sizes. The scaling of the first- and second-order moduli with network parameters, such as network density and the ratio of fiber bending to axial stiffness, is determined. We observe a similar dependency of classical and strain gradient moduli on the same network parameters. The internal length scales associated with the gradient coefficients of the constitutive equation are also defined in terms of the network parameters. The strain gradient moduli prove to be size-independent in the affine regime, and they converge toward a size-independent value in the non-affine deformation regime after a rescaling of physical dimensions by the window size. The obtained results show that the strain gradient moduli scale uniformly with the square of the magnitude of the strain gradients applied to the window of analysis.

Multiscale FEM simulations of cross-linked actin network embedded in cytosol with the focus on the filament orientation.

The present contribution focuses on the application of the multiscale finite element method to the modeling of actin networks that are embedded in the cytosol. These cell components are of particular importance with regard to the cell response to external stimuli. The homogenization strategy chosen uses the Hill-Mandel macrohomogeneity condition for bridging 2 scales: the macroscopic scale that is related to the cell level and the microscopic scale related to the representative volume element. For the modeling of filaments, the Holzapfel-Ogden β-model is applied. It provides a relationship between the tensile force and the caused stretches, serves as the basis for the derivation of the stress and elasticity tensors, and enables a novel finite element implementation. The elements with the neo-Hookean constitutive law are applied for the simulation of the cytosol. The results presented corroborate the main advantage of the concept, namely, its flexibility with regard to the choice of the representative volume element as well as of macroscopic tests. The focus is particularly placed on the study of the filament orientation and of its influence on the effective behavior.

Dispersive wave propagation in two-dimensional rigid periodic blocky materials with elastic interfaces

Dispersive waves in two-dimensional blocky materials with periodic microstructure made up of equal rigid units, having polygonal centro-symmetric shape with mass and gyroscopic inertia, connected with each other through homogeneous linear interfaces, have been analyzed. The acoustic behavior of the resulting discrete Lagrangian model has been obtained through a Floquet–Bloch approach. From the resulting eigenproblem derived by the Euler–Lagrange equations for harmonic wave propagation, two acoustic branches and an optical branch are obtained in the frequency spectrum. A micropolar continuum model to approximate the Lagrangian model has been derived based on a second-order Taylor expansion of the generalized macro-displacement field. The constitutive equations of the equivalent micropolar continuum have been obtained, with the peculiarity that the positive definiteness of the second-order symmetric tensor associated to the curvature vector is not guaranteed and depends both on the ratio between the local tangent and normal stiffness and on the block shape. The same results have been obtained through an extended Hamiltonian derivation of the equations of motion for the equivalent continuum that is related to the Hill-Mandel macro homogeneity condition. Moreover, it is shown that the hermitian matrix governing the eigenproblem of harmonic wave propagation in the micropolar model is exact up to the second order in the norm of the wave vector with respect to the same matrix from the discrete model. To appreciate the acoustic behavior of some relevant blocky materials and to understand the reliability and the validity limits of the micropolar continuum model, some blocky patterns have been analyzed: rhombic and hexagonal assemblages and running bond masonry. From the results obtained in the examples, the obtained micropolar model turns out to be particularly accurate to describe dispersive functions for wavelengths greater than 3-4 times the characteristic dimension of the block. Finally, in consideration that the positive definiteness of the second order elastic tensor of the micropolar model is not guaranteed, the hyperbolicity of the equation of motion has been investigated by considering the Legendre–Hadamard ellipticity conditions requiring real values for the wave velocity.

Extended Hill’s lemma for non-Cauchy continua based on the simplified strain gradient elasticity theory

Hill's lemma for the Cauchy continuum has been playing an important role in micromechanics. An extended version of Hill's lemma for non-Cauchy continua is formulated using the simplified strain gradient elasticity theory (SSGET), which contains only one material length scale parameter and can account for the microstructure-dependent strain gradient effect. As a corollary of the extended Hill's lemma, the Hill–Mandel macro-homogeneity condition for non-Cauchy continua is obtained along with the general forms of kinematically and statically admissible boundary conditions that are required for constructing an energetically equivalent homogeneous comparison material. Based on these general forms, four sets of uniform boundary conditions are identified, which are implementable in material tests and can be directly used in homogenization analyses of heterogeneous materials. It is shown that when the strain gradient effect is suppressed, the extended Hill's lemma recovers the classical Hill's lemma for the Cauchy continuum and the extended Hill–Mandel condition reduces to its classical counterpart.

Homogenization in micro-magneto-mechanics

Ferromagnetic materials are characterized by a heterogeneous micro-structure that can be altered by external magnetic and mechanical stimuli. The understanding and the description of the micro-structure evolution is of particular importance for the design and the analysis of smart materials with magneto-mechanical coupling. The macroscopic response of the material results from complex magneto-mechanical interactions occurring on smaller length scales, which are driven by magnetization reorientation and associated magnetic domain wall motions. The aim of this work is to directly base the description of the macroscopic magneto-mechanical material behavior on the micro-magnetic domain evolution. This will be realized by the incorporation of a ferromagnetic phase-field formulation into a macroscopic Boltzmann continuum by the use of computational homogenization. The transition conditions between the two scales are obtained via rigorous exploitation of rate-type and incremental variational principles, which incorporate an extended version of the classical Hill---Mandel macro-homogeneity condition covering the phase field on the micro-scale. An efficient two-scale computational scenario is developed based on an operator splitting scheme that includes a predictor for the magnetization on the micro-scale. Two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations demonstrate the performance of the method. They investigate micro-magnetic domain evolution driven by macroscopic fields as well as the associated overall hysteretic response of ferromagnetic solids.

An Introduction to Micromechanics

This article provides a brief introduction to micromechanics using linear elastic materials as an example. The fundamental micromechanics concepts including homogenization and dehomogenization, representative volume element (RVE), unit cell, average stress and strain theories, effective stiffness and compliance, Hill-Mandel macrohomogeneity condition. This chapter also describes the detailed derivations of the rules of mixtures, and three full field micromechanics theories including finite element analysis of a representative volume element (RVE analysis), mathematical homogenization theory (MHT), and mechanics of structure genome (MSG). Theoretical connections among the three full field micromechanics theories are clearly shown. Particularly, it is shown that RVE analysis, MHT and MSG are governed by the same set of equations for 3D RVEs with periodic boundary conditions. RVE analysis and MSG can also handle aperiodic or partially periodic materials for which MHT is not applicable. MSG has the unique capability to obtain the complete set of 3D properties and local fields for heterogeneous materials featuring 1D or 2D heterogeneities.

Simplified modelling of chiral lattice materials with local resonators

A simplified model of periodic chiral beam-lattices containing local resonators has been formulated to obtain a better understanding of the influence of the chirality and of the dynamic characteristics of the local resonators on the acoustic behaviour. The beam-lattice models are made up of a periodic array of rigid heavy rings, each one connected to the others through elastic slender massless ligaments and containing an internal resonator made of a rigid disk in a soft elastic annulus. The band structure and the occurrence of low frequency band-gaps are analysed through a discrete Lagrangian model. For both the hexa- and the tetrachiral lattice, two acoustic modes and four optical modes are identified and the influence of the dynamic characteristics of the resonator on those branches is analysed together with some properties of the band structure. By approximating the ring displacements of the discrete Lagrangian model as a continuum field and through an application of the generalized macro-homogeneity condition, a generalized micropolar equivalent continuum has been derived, together with the overall equation of motion and the constitutive equation given in closed form. The validity limits of the dispersion functions provided by the micropolar model are assessed by a comparison with those obtained by the discrete model.

A micromechanical approach for the Cosserat modeling of composites

The present paper deals with the homogenization problem of periodic composite materials, considering a Cosserat continuum at the macro-level and a Cauchy continuum at the micro-level. Consistently with the strain-driven approach, the two levels are linked by a kinematic map based on a third order polynomial expansion. Because of the assumed regular texture of the composite material, a Unit Cell (UC) is selected; then, the problem of determining the displacement perturbation fields, arising when second or third order polynomial boundary conditions are imposed on the UC, is investigated. A new micromechanical approach, based on the decomposition of the perturbation fields in terms of functions which depend on the macroscopic strain components, is proposed. The identification of the linear elastic 2D Cosserat constitutive parameters is performed, by using the Hill–Mandel technique, based on the macrohomogeneity condition. The influence of the selection of the UC is analyzed and some critical issues are outlined. Numerical examples for a specific composite with cubic symmetry are shown.

Weakly periodic boundary conditions for the homogenization of flow in porous media

Abstract Background Seepage in porous media is modeled as a Stokes flow in an open pore system contained in a rigid, impermeable and spatially periodic matrix. By homogenization, the problem is turned into a two-scale problem consisting of a Darcy type problem on the macroscale and a Stokes flow on the subscale. Methods The pertinent equations are derived by minimization of a potential and in order to satisfy the Variationally Consistent Macrohomogeneity Condition, Lagrange multipliers are used to impose periodicity on the subscale RVE. Special attention is given to the bounds produced by confining the solutions spaces of the subscale problem. Results In the numerical section, we choose to discretize the Lagrange multipliers as global polynomials along the boundary of the computational domain and investigate how the order of the polynomial influence the permeability of the RVE. Furthermore, we investigate how the size of the RVE affect its permeability for two types of domains. Conclusions The permeability of the RVE depends highly on the discretization of the Lagrange multipliers. However, the flow quickly converges towards strong periodicity as the multipliers are refined.