Bounds on effective dynamic properties of elastic composites

We present general, computable, improvable, and rigorous bounds for the total energy of a finite heterogeneous volume element Omega or a periodically distributed unit cell of an elastic composite of any known distribution of inhomogeneities of any geometry and elasticity, undergoing a harmonic motion at a fixed frequency or supporting a single-frequency Bloch-form elastic wave of a given wavevector. These bounds are rigorously valid for any consistent boundary conditions that produce in the finite sample or in the unit cell, either a common average strain or a common average momentum. No other restrictions are imposed. We do not assume statistical homogeneity or isotropy. Our approach is based on the Hashin-Shtrikman bounds in elastostatics, which have been shown to provide strict bounds for the overall elastic moduli commonly defined (or actually measured) using uniform boundary tractions and/or linear boundary displacements; i.e., boundary data corresponding to the overall uniform stress and/or uniform strain conditions. Here we present strict bounds for the dynamic frequency-dependent constitutive parameters of the composite and give explicit expressions for a direct calculation of these bounds. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.