Asymptotics of the homogenized moduli for the elastic chess-board composite (Q1194065)

The paper deals with the homogenized moduli of elastic composites. The classical homogenization theory of periodic inhomogeneous media cannot be applied when the physical characteristics of the phases differ strongly. In this case the mathematical description includes not only the spatial length-scale homogenization parameter but also another one which describes the variation of the characteristics of the medium between the different components. In this paper an elastic chess composite, with a stiff phase and a soft phase, is considered. The three-dimensional, locally isotropic body is invariant along the \(z\)-axis. In the orthogonal plane \(xy\) the Lamé constants change with the period of the chess board and have constant values \(\lambda\), \(\mu\) in the white squares and \(\delta\lambda\), \(\delta\mu\) in the black squares, with a dimensionless inhomogeneity parameter \(\delta\). The paper studies the asymptotic behavior of the homogenized moduli of the chess composite when \(\delta\to 0\). As consequences of the square symmetry of a chess board such a composite is described by three elastic moduli: the Young modulus \(\hat E\), the Poisson ratio \(\hat\nu\), and the shear modulus \(\hat\mu\). The main result of the paper is the following asymptotic behaviors when \(\delta\to 0\): \(\hat E\sim e\sqrt\delta\), \(\hat\mu\sim m\sqrt\delta\), \(\hat\nu=O(\delta^{1/4}-\varepsilon)\) \(\forall\varepsilon>0\). The constants \(e\) and \(m\) are calculated. These asymptotics are determined by the singularity of the solution of the elasticity problem at each corner point where four different squares are in contact. Specially it is proved that the composite Poisson ratio is vanishingly small even though the Poisson ratios of the two phases are equal and constant.