An efficient algorithm for numerical homogenization of fluid filled porous solids: part-I

The concept of representative volume element or RVE is invoked to develop an algorithm for numerical homogenization of fluid filled porous solids. RVE based methods decouple analysis of a composite material into analyses at the local and global levels. The local level analysis models the microstructural details to determine effective properties by applying boundary conditions to the RVE and solving the resultant boundary value problem. The composite structure is then replaced by an equivalent homogeneous material having the calculated effective properties. We combine the features of two techniques: one is the definition of a displacement field for the fluid phase to allow for a definition of a continuous displacement field across the microstructure and the other is the $FE^2$ numerical homogenization that couples the macroscale with the RVE scale via gauss points.