Thermomechanical Behavior of Dissipative Composite Materials

Abstract

This book presents theoretical and numerical tools for studying materials and structures under fully coupled thermomechanical conditions, with a special focus on composites. The authors cover many aspects of the modeling process and provide the reader with the knowledge required to: a) identify the conservation laws and thermodynamic principles that need to be respected by most solid materials; b) construct constitutive laws for various types of dissipative processes, both rate-independent and rate-dependent, by utilizing a rigorous thermodynamic framework; c) design robust numerical algorithms that permit accuracy and efficiency in the calculations of complicated constitutive laws; d) extend the theoretical and numerical investigation from homogeneous media to composites with periodic or random microstructure. The discussions and topics explored are useful for graduate students, as well as for young and advanced researchers, who wish to strengthen their knowledge of the application of thermodynamic principles on dissipative materials and homogenization theories for composites.