Homogenization of polycrystalline aggregates (Q1566943)

Using concepts of measure and probability theory as well as functional analysis and dynamical systems, the author puts the problem of determining effective elastic constants and effective elasticity tensor for a polycrystalline material (whose crystallites have the same composition) into a precise mathematical framework. The well-written paper has a strong focus on mathematics, however, the problem considered is carefully motivated physically. Within the probabilistic framework introduced to deal with the homogenization of such a polycrystalline material, it is shown that the orientation measure \(p\) used in practice is equivalent to the probability measure defined to describe the orientation of the crystallite at a single point in space. The homogenization problem itself is treated following ideas similar as given in \textit{G. C. Papanicolaou} and \textit{S. R. S. Varadhan} [Random fields. Rigorous results in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory, Esztergom 1979, Colloq. Math. Soc. Janos Bolyai 27, 853-873 (1981; Zbl 0499.60059)] and \textit{S. M. Kozlov} [Math. USSR, Sb. 37, 167-180 (1980; Zbl 0444.60047)]. It is investigated how the homogenized elasticity tensor changes as the probability characterizing the ensemble changes. Moreover, it is shown that (under the assumption that the crystallographic axes constitute an independent random field) the theory presented is compatible with the formulation used in texture analysis, and an assumption made earlier by \textit{C.-S. Man} [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 143, No. 1, 77-103 (1998; Zbl 0917.73007)] in his study of weakly textured polycrystals is proved. Finally, the restrictions imposed on the orientation measure \(p\) by the symmetries of the crystallite are discussed, and bounds restricting the material constants are established.