Ricerc@Sapienza

Multiscale procedures are often adopted for the continuum modeling of materials composed of a specific micro-structure. Generally, in mechanics of materials only two-scales are linked. In this work the original (fine) micro-scale description, thought as a composite material made of matrix and fibers/particles/crystals which can interact among them, and a scale-dependent continuum (coarse) macro-scale are linked via an energy equivalence criterion.

This work discusses the advantages of micropolar theory in modeling anisotropic composite materials with microstruc-ture. A homogenized constitutive model starting from a representative volume element is proposed in order to find an equivalent continuum. Classical (e.g., Cauchy of Grade 1) continua are not always suitable to accurately approximate the behavior of such composites because no size effects, nor lack of symmetries in strain and stress, can be taken into account.