We formulate a relaxed linear elastic micromorphic continuum model with symmetric Cauchy forcestresses and curvature contribution depending only on the micro-dislocation tensor. Our relaxed model is still able to fully describe rotation of the microstructure and to predict non-polar size-effects. It is intended for the homogenized description of highly heterogeneous, but non polar materials with microstructure liable to slip and fracture. In contrast to classical linear micromorphic models our free energy is not uniformly pointwise positive definite in the control of the independent constitutive variables. The new relaxed micromorphic model supports well-posedness results for the dynamic and static case. There, decisive use is made of new coercive inequalities recently proved by Neff, Pauly and Witsch and by Bauer, Neff, Pauly and Starke. The new relaxed micromorphic formulation can be related to dislocation dynamics, gradient plasticity and seismic processes of earthquakes. It unifies and simplifies the understanding of the linear micromorphic models.

Navier-Cauchy format for Continuum Mechanics is based on the concept of contact interaction between subbodies of a given continuous body. In this paper it is shown how -by means of the Principle of Virtual Powers-it is possible to generalize Cauchy representation formulas for contact interactions to the case of N-th gradient continua, i.e. continua in which the deformation energy depends on the deformation Green-Saint-Venant tensor and all its N-1 order gradients. In particular, in this paper the explicit representation formulas to be used in N-th gradient continua to determine contact interactions as functions of the shape of Cauchy Cuts are derived. It is therefore shown that i) these interactions must include edge (i.e. concentrated on curves) and wedge (i.e. concentrated on points) interactions, and ii) these interactions cannot reduce simply to forces: indeed the concept of K-forces (generalizing similar concepts introduced by Rivlin, Mindlin, Green and Germain) is fundamental and unavoidable in the theory of N-th gradient continua.

In this paper the relaxed micromorphic model proposed in [49,26] has been used to study wave propagation in unbounded continua with microstructure. By studying dispersion relations for the considered relaxed medium, we are able to disclose precise frequency ranges (band-gaps) for which propagation of waves cannot occur. These dispersion relations are strongly nonlinear so giving rise to a macroscopic dispersive behavior of the considered medium. We prove that the presence of band-gaps is related to a unique elastic coefficient, the socalled Cosserat couple modulus µc, which is also responsible for the loss of symmetry of the Cauchy force stress tensor. This parameter can be seen as the trigger of a bifurcation phenomenon since the fact of slightly changing its value around a given threshold drastically changes the observed response of the material with respect to wave propagation. We finally show that band-gaps cannot be accounted for by classical micromorphic models as well as by Cosserat and second gradient ones. The potential fields of application of the proposed relaxed model are manifold, above all for what concerns the conception of new engineering materials to be used for vibration control and stealth technology.

On ne trouvera point de Figures dans cet Ouvrage. Les méthodes que j'y expose ne demandent ni constructions, ni raisonnemens géométriques ou méchaniques, mais seulement des opérations algébriques, assujetties à une marche réguliere et uniforme. Ceux qui aiment l'Analyse, verront avec plaisir la Méchanique en divenir une nouvelle branche, et me sauront gré d'en avoir étendu ansi le domaine." From the Avertissement of the Méchanique Analitique by Lagrange [87]1 AbstractIn this paper a stationary action principle is proved to hold for capillary fluids, i.e. fluids for which the deformation energy has the form suggested, starting from molecular arguments, for instance by Cahn and Hilliard [15,16]. We remark that these fluids are sometimes also called Korteweg-de Vries or Cahn-Allen fluids. In general continua whose deformation energy depends on the second gradient of placement are called second gradient (or Piola-Toupin or Mindlin or Green-Rivlin or Germain or second grade) continua. In the present paper, a material description for second gradient continua is formulated. A Lagrangian action is introduced in both the material and spatial descriptions and the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations and boundary conditions are found. These conditions are formulated in terms of an objective deformation energy volume density in two cases: when this energy is assumed to depend on either C and ∇C or on C −1 and ∇C −1 , where C is the Cauchy-Green deformation tensor. When particularized to energies which characterize fluid materials, the capillary fluid evolution conditions (see e.g. Casal [25] or Seppecher [140,143] for an alternative deduction based on thermodynamic arguments) are recovered. A version of Bernoulli's law valid for capillary fluids is found and, in Appendix B, useful kinematic formulas for the present variational formulation are proposed. Historical comments about Gabrio Piola's contribution to analytical continuum mechanics are also presented. In this context the reader is also referred to Capecchi and Ruta [17]. Part Ithe author obtained the evolution equations for capillary fluids by combining the principle of virtual works in the Eulerian description with the first principle of thermodynamics (also in the case of isothermal motions). This shows that it can be sometimes useful to use an heuristic procedure in which the principle of virtual powers is reinforced by additionally requiring also the validity of the balance of mechanical energy. Also interesting in this context are the results presented in Casal [25], Gavrilyuk and Gouin [68].In the opinion of the present authors the methods of analytical continuum mechanics are the most effective ones (see also [100]), at least when formulating models for mechanical phenomena involving multiple time and length scales. The reader is invited to consider, with respect to this particular class of phenomena, the difficulties which are to be confronted when using continuum thermodynamics, for instance, to describe interfacial phenomena in phase transition (see e.g. d...

In this paper we propose to study wave propagation, transmission and reflection in band-gap mechanical metamaterials via the relaxed micromorphic model. To do so, guided by a suitable variational procedure, we start deriving the jump duality conditions to be imposed at surfaces of discontinuity of the material properties in non-dissipative, linear-elastic, isotropic, relaxed micromorphic media. Jump conditions to be imposed at surfaces of discontinuity embedded in Cauchy and Mindlin continua are also presented as a result of the application of a similar variational procedure. The introduced theoretical framework subsequently allows the transparent set-up of different types of micro-macro connections granting the description of both i) internal connexions at material discontinuity surfaces embedded in the considered continua and, as a particular case, ii) possible connections between different (Cauchy, Mindlin or relaxed micromorphic) continua. The established theoretical framework is general enough to be used for the description of a wealth of different physical situations and can be used as reference for further studies involving the need of suitably connecting different continua in view of (meta-)structural design. In the second part of the paper, we focus our attention on the case of an interface between a classical Cauchy continuum on one side and a relaxed micromorphic one on the other side in order to perform explicit numerical simulations of wave reflection and transmission. This particular choice is descriptive of a specific physical situation in which a classical material is connected to a phononic crystal. The reflective properties of this particular interface are numerically investigated for different types of possible micro-macro connections, so explicitly showing the effect of different boundary conditions on the phenomena of reflection and transmission. Finally, the case of the connection between a Cauchy continuum and a Mindlin one is also presented as a numerical study, so showing that band-gap description is not possible for such continua, in strong contrast with the relaxed micromorphic case.

It has been known since the pioneering works by Piola, Cosserat, Mindlin, Toupin, Eringen, Green, Rivlin and Germain that many micro-structural effects in mechanical systems can be still modeled by means of continuum theories. When needed, the displacement field must be complemented by additional kinematical descriptors, called sometimes microstructural fields. In this paper, a technologically important class of fibrous composite reinforcements is considered and their mechanical behavior is described at finite strains by means of a second-gradient, hyperelastic, orthotropic continuum theory which is obtained as the limit case of a micromorphic theory. Following Mindlin and Eringen, we consider a micromorphic continuum theory based on an enriched kinematics constituted by the displacement field u and a second-order tensor field psi describing microscopic deformations. The governing equations in weak form are used to perform numerical simulations in which a bias extension test is reproduced. We show that second-gradient energy terms allow for an effective prediction of the onset of internal shear boundary layers which are transition zones between two different shear deformation modes. The existence of these boundary layers cannot be described by a simple first-gradient model, and its features are related to second-gradient material coefficients. The obtained numerical results, together with the available experimental evidences, allow us to estimate the order of magnitude of the introduced second-gradient coefficients by inverse approach. This justifies the need of a novel measurement campaign aimed to estimate the value of the introduced second-gradient parameters for a wide class of fibrous materials

International audienceThe bias-extension test is a rather simple experiment aiming to determine in-plane shear properties of textile composite reinforcements. However the mechanics during the test involves fibrous material at large shear strains and large rotations of the fibres. Several aspects are still being studied and are not yet modeled in a consensual manner. The standard analysis of the test is based on two assumptions: inextensibility of the fibers and rotations at the yarn crossovers without slippage. They lead to the development of zones with constant fibre orientations proper to the bias-extension test. Beyond the analysis of the test within these basic assumptions, the paper presents studies that have been carried out on the lack of verification of these hypothesis (slippage, tension in the yarns, effects of fibre bending). The effects of temperature, mesoscopic modeling and tension locking are also considered in the case of the bias-extension test

In this paper we consider the equilibrium problem in the relaxed linear model of micromorphic elastic materials. The basic kinematical fields of this extended continuum model are the displacement u ∈ R 3 and the non-symmetric micro-distortion density tensor P ∈ R 3×3 . In this relaxed theory a symmetric forcestress tensor arises despite the presence of microstructure and the curvature contribution depends solely on the micro-dislocation tensor Curl P . However, the relaxed model is able to fully describe rotations of the microstructure and to predict non-polar size-effects. In contrast to classical linear micromorphic models, we allow the usual elasticity tensors to become positive-semidefinite. We prove that, nevertheless, the equilibrium problem has a unique weak solution in a suitable Hilbert space. The mathematical framework also settles the question of which boundary conditions to take for the micro-distortion. Similarities and differences between linear micromorphic elasticity and dislocation gauge theory are discussed and pointed out.