The method of asymptotic homogenization is used to develop a comprehensive
micromechanical model pertaining to three-dimensional composite structures
with an embedded periodic network of isotropic reinforcements, the spatial
arrangement of which renders the behavior of the given structures macroscopically
anisotropic. The model developed in this paper allows the transformation of the
original boundary value problem into a simpler one that is characterized by
some effective elastic coefficients. These coefficients are calculated from a
so-called
unit cell or periodicity problem, and are shown to depend solely on the
geometric and material characteristics of the unit cell and are completely
independent of the global formulation of the boundary-value problem. As such,
the effective elastic coefficients are universal in nature and can be used to
study a wide variety of boundary value problems. The model is illustrated by
means of several examples of a practical importance and it is shown that the
effective properties of a given composite structure can be tailored to satisfy the
requirements of a particular application by changing certain geometric parameters
such as the size or relative orientation of the reinforcements. For the special
case in which the reinforcements form only a two-dimensional (in-plane)
network, the results converge to those of previous models obtained either by
means of asymptotic homogenization or by stress-strain relationships in the
reinforcements.
Keywords
asymptotic homogenization, composite structures, 3D spatial
network, unit cell, effective elastic coefficients