Multiscale Analysis of Elastic Properties of Nano-Reinforced Materials Exhibiting Surface Effects. Application for Determination of Effective Shear Modulus

This work concerns a multiscale analysis of nano-reinforced heterogeneous materials. Such materials exhibit surface effects that must be taken into account in the homogenization procedure. In this study, a coherent imperfect interface model was employed to characterize the jumps of mechanical properties through the interface region between the matrix and the nanofillers. As the hypothesis of scale separation was adopted, a generalized self-consistent micromechanical scheme was employed for the determination of the homogenized elastic moduli. An explicit calculation for the determination of effective shear modulus is presented, together with a numerical application illustrating the surface effect. It is shown that the coherent imperfect interface model is capable of exploring the surface effect in nano-reinforced materials, as demonstrated experimentally in the literature.