Influence of pore geometry on the effective response of porous media

The generalized method of cells (GMC) is used to study the influence of pore geometry on the effective elastic properties and inelastic response of porous materials. Periodic microstructures with four distinct pore geometries are studied and the results for effective elastic properties are compared with several other available models and experimental results. Predictions for the inelastic response of porous alumina are presented for tensile loading, as a function of pore geometry and pore volume fraction, with the inelastic behavior of the bulk material modeled using a unified visco-plasticity theory. All results are presented for discrete pore shape and discrete porosity. It is shown that pore geometry can have a significant influence on both elastic and inelastic response, that pore geometry can be associated with parameters from other models, and that the generalized method of cells is an efficient, flexible and reliable method of analysis for such problems. (C) 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers.