Some exact results concerning thermoelastic properties of hollow sphere composites

Thermoelastic properties of hollow sphere composites are studied based on the uniform matrix-field concept proposed here. Some connections between local thermal and mechanical fields produced by certain homogeneous boundary conditions are derived, and furthermore, exact relations are also obtained between the effective thermoelastic properties of the composites. For a macroscopically isotropic composite with a certain ratio of the outer radius to the inner radius, it is found that the effective bulk modulus and the linear coefficient of thermal expansion can be exactly determined, if the thermal expansion coefficient of the matrix and that of the sphere are the same.