Microscopic symmetric bifurcation condition of cellular solids based on a homogenization theory of finite deformation

In this paper, we establish a homogenization framework to analyze the microscopic symmetric bifurcation buckling of cellular solids subjected to macroscopically uniform compression. To this end, describing the principle of virtual work for infinite periodic materials in the updated Lagrangian form, we build a homogenization theory of finite deformation, which satisfies the principle of material objectivity. Then, we state a postulate that at the onset of microscopic symmetric bifurcation, microscopic velocity becomes spontaneous, yet changing the sign of such spontaneous velocity has no influence on the variation in macroscopic states. By applying this postulate to the homogenization theory, we derive the conditions to be satisfied at the onset of microscopic symmetric bifurcation. The resulting conditions are verified by analyzing numerically the in-plane biaxial buckling of an elastic hexagonal honeycomb. It is thus shown that three kinds of experimentally observed buckling modes of honeycombs i.e,, uniaxial, biaxial and flower-like modes, are attained and classified as microscopic symmetric bifurcation. It is also shown that the multiplicity of bifurcation gives rise to the complex cell-patterns in the biaxial and flower-like modes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.