Elastomeric Composites

Elastomeric composites are used pervasively in
commercial and industrial applications, and in recent
years have shown great promise for utilization in new
technologies. This raises the practical and
theoretical need to understand in detail the
interplay between the microscopic properties of these
material systems and their physical macroscopic
properties, and how the latter may be enhanced with
changes in the former. The main aim of this work is
the development of a nonlinear homogenization
framework for determining the macroscopic response
and stability of large classes of elastomeric
composites directly in terms of the constitutive
behaviors of the constituents and of the underlying
microstructure. The key technical idea behind the
proposed approach is the construction of novel
variational principles based on "linear comparison
media". This work includes applications of the
proposed theory to various classes of reinforced and
porous elastomers with random and periodic
microstructures. A comprehensive analysis of the
effective behavior, the microstructure evolution, and
the development of instabilities is provided for all
these applications.