Material symmetries of micropolar continua equivalent to lattices (Q1303018)

The authors discuss some aspects concerning the identification of continuum coarse models from fine discrete models. This requires the conservation of mechanical power in the transition from microscopic to macroscopic description. The authors suppose a procedure based on the equivalence of virtual powers which provides a natural way to select a continuum satisfying this requirement. The advantages of the proposed integral procedure are shown in the case when the coarse model is a multifield continuum with strain fields compatible with those of the fine model. In this situation, both models share the same material symmetry group. This is demonstrated with reference to rigid particle systems. In particular, the authors define symmetry group of the discrete material, and study in detail its transformation into the symmetry group of an equivalent micropolar continuum. Numerical analyses are also performed to investigate the effect of change in material symmetries.