Composite materials were processed by casting a mixture of aqueous suspensions of latex and microfibrils. These microfibrils, or whiskers, are extracted from a sea animal and are monocrystals of cellulose, with an aspect ratio around 100 and an average diameter of 20 nm. It has been found that the mechanical properties (shear modulus) are increased by more than two orders of magnitude in the rubbery state of the polymeric matrix, when the whisker content was 6% (w/w). This very large effect is discussed on the basis of different types of mechanical models and it is concluded that these whiskers form a rigid network, probably linked by hydrogen bonds. The formation of this network is assumed to be governed by a percolation mechanism.

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Abstract. Anisotropy of upper mantle physical properties results from lattice preferred orientation (LPO) of upper mantle minerals, in particular olivine. We use an anisotropic viscoplastic selfconsistent (VPSC) and an equilibrium-based model to simulate the development of olivine LPO and, hence, of seismic anisotropy during deformation. Comparison of model predictions with olivine LPO of naturally and experimentally deformed peridotites shows that the best fit is obtained for VPSC models with relaxed strain compatibility. Slight differences between modeled and measured LPO may be ascribed to activation of dynamic recrystallization during experimental and natural deformation. In simple shear, for instance, experimental results suggest that dynamic recrystallization results in further reorientation of the LPO leading to parallelism between the main (010)[ 100] slip system and the macroscopic shear. Thus modeled simple shear LPOs are slightly misoriented relative to LPOs measured in natural and experimentally sheared peridotires. This misorientation is higher for equilibrium-based models. Yet seismic properties calculated using LPO simulated using either anisotropic VPSC or equilibrium-based models are similar to those of naturally deformed peridotRes; errors in the prediction of the polarization direction of the fast S wave and of the fast propagation direction for P waves are usually < 15 ø. Moreover, overestimation of LPO intensities in equilibrium-based and VPSC simulations at high strains does not affect seismic anisotropy estimates, because these latter are weakly dependent on the LPO intensity once a distinct LPO pattern has been developed. Thus both methods yield good predictions of development of upper mantle seismic anisotropy in response to plastic flow. Two notes of caution have nevertheless to be observed in using these results: (1) the dilution effect of other upper mantle mineral phases, in particular enstatite, has to be taken into account in quantitative predictions of upper mantle seismic anisotropy, and (2) LPO patterns from a few naturally deformed peridotRes cannot be reproduced in simulations. These abnormal LPOs represent a small percent of the measured natural LPOs, but the present sampling may not be representative of their abundance in the Earth's upper mantle.

Nanocomposites obtained by casting a mixture of a latex and a n aqueous suspension of cellulose whiskers have been studied. Their mechanical properties (e.g. shear modulus) are found to increase by more than three orders of magnitude in the rubbery state of the polymer matrix, when the whisker content is 6 wt%. This large and unusual effect is discussed on the basis of different types of mechanical models, including semi-phenomenological and numerical finite element calculations. It is concluded that cellulose whiskers form a rigid network linked by hydrogen bonds. The formation of this network is assumed to be governed by a percolation mechanism.

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