Self-Consistent Methods for Composites

The book is dedicated to the application of self-consistent methods to the solution of static and dynamic problems of the mechanics and physics of composite materials. The effective elastic, electric, dielectric, thermo-conductive and other properties of composite materials reinforced by ellipsoidal, spherical multi-layered inclusions, thin hard and soft inclusions, short fibers and unidirected multi-layered fibers are considered. Explicit formulas and efficient computational algorithms for the calculation of the effective properties of the composites are presented and analyzed. The method of the effective medium and the method of the effective field are developed for the calculation of the phase velocities and attenuation of the mean (coherent) wave fields propagating in the composites. The predictions of the methods are compared with experimental data and exact solutions for the composites with periodical microstructures. The book may be useful for material engineers creating new composite materials and scholars who work on the theory of composite and non-homogeneous media.