Willis elastodynamic homogenization theory revisited for periodic media

The theory of elastodynamic homogenization initiated by J.R. Willis is revisited for periodically inhomogeneous media through a careful scrutiny of the main aspects of that theory in the 3D continuum context and by applying it to the thorough treatment of a simple 1D discrete periodic system. The Bloch theorem appears to be central to appropriately defining and interpreting effective fields. Based on some physical arguments, three necessary conditions are derived for the transition from the microscopic description to the macroscopic description of periodic media. The parameters involved in the Willis effective constitutive relation are expressed in terms of two localization tensors and specified with the help of the corresponding Green function in the spirit of micromechanics. These results are illustrated and discussed for the 1D discrete periodic system considered. In particular, inspired by Brillouin's study, the dependency of the effective constitutive parameters on the frequency is physically interpreted in terms of oscillation modes of the underlying microstructure. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.