Basile Audoly

A higher-order homogenization method for linear elastic structures is proposed. While most existing approaches to homogenization start from the equations of equilibrium, the proposed one works at the energy level. We start from an energy functional depending on microscopic degrees of freedom on the one hand and on macroscopic variables on the other hand; the homogenized energy functional is derived by relaxing the microscopic degrees of freedom and applying a formal two-scale expansion. This method delivers the the energy functional of the homogenized model directly, including boundary terms that have not been discussed in previous work. Our method is formulated in a generic setting which makes it applicable to a variety of geometries in dimension 1, 2 or 3, and without any particular assumption on material symmetry. An implementation using a symbolic calculation language is proposed and it is distributed as an open-source library. Simple illustrations to elastic trusses having pre-stress or graded elastic properties are presented. The approach is presented in the context of discrete elastic structures and the connection with previous work on the higher-order homogenization of period continua is discussed.

We derive a one-dimensional model for tape springs. The derivation starts from nonlinear thin-shell theory and uses a dimension reduction technique that combines a centreline-based parametrization of the tape-spring midsurface with the assumption that the strain varies slowly along the length of the tape spring. The one-dimensional model is effectively a higher-order rod model: at leading order, the strain energy depends on the extensional, bending and twisting strains and is consistent with classical results from the literature; the two following orders are novel and capture the dependence of the strain energy on the strain gradients. The cross-sectional displacements are solved as part of the dimension reduction process, making the one-dimensional model asymptotically exact. We expect that the model will accurately and efficiently capture the deformations and instabilities in tape springs, including those involving highly localized deformations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Probing and dynamics of shock sensitive shells’.