A new integral equation approach to elastodynamic homogenization

A new theory of elastodynamic homogenization is proposed, which exploits the integral equation form of Navier's equations and relationships between length scales within composite media. The scheme is introduced by focusing on its leading-order approximation for orthotropic, periodic fibre-reinforced media where fibres have arbitrary cross-sectional shape. The methodology is general but here it is shown for horizontally polarized shear (SH) wave propagation for ease of exposition. The resulting effective properties are shown to possess rich structure in that four terms account separately for the physical detail of the composite (associated with fibre cross-sectional shape, elastic properties, lattice geometry and volume fraction). In particular, the appropriate component of Eshelby's tensor arises naturally in order to deal with the shape of the fibre cross section. Results are plotted for circular fibres and compared with extant methods, including the method of asymptotic homogenization. The leading-order scheme is shown to be in excellent agreement even for relatively high volume fractions.