Micromechanics Modeling of the Nonlinear Behavior of Electrostrictive Multiphase Composites

The micromechanics modeling of the nonlinear behavior of the electrostrictive multiphase composites is developed using an incremental formulation based on the variational asymptotic method for unit cell homogenization (VAMUCH), a recently developed micromechanics modeling scheme. The microstructure of composites is assumed to be periodic. Taking advantage of the small size of the microstructure, we formulate a variational statement of energy change of the unit cell through an asymptotic analysis of the functional by invoking only two essential assumptions within the concept of micromechanics. Finally, the expression of the effective instantaneous tangential electromechanical matrix of the composites are established. Several numerical examples will be used to demonstrate the capability of the present theory.