On the stiffness of materials containing a disordered array of microscopic holes or hard inclusions (Q1208104)

The paper deals with the macroscopic mechanical behavior of composite materials. It treats materials with a microstructure consisting of either holes or rigid inclusions embedded in an elastic matrix. The approach follows that of the first author in a previous study (e.g., [\textit{O. P. Bruno}, Asymptotic Anal. 4, No. 4, 339-365 (1991; Zbl 0747.73035)]) on the conductivity of high-contrast mixtures. The effective elasticity tensor of a given composite is considered as a function of the elasticity tensor of the inclusions. Studying the analyticity of the effective tensor, the authors state that when the inclusions are well separated, there is a certain class of non-physical negative-definite values of the elastic moduli of the inclusions for which the effective tensor does not become singular. This result is used to establish representation formulae for the effective elasticity tensor. These formulae will, in turn, be useful in obtaining bounds for the elastic constants. More precise results concerning the singularity region of the effective tensor are given. The imply known homogenization theorems for domains with holes, and new results for domain with rigid inclusions. Bounds on the effective bulk and shear moduli of high-contrast composites are derived in the cases of well separated spherical or cylindrical holes or hard inclusions.