Bounds on the effective properties of polydispersed suspensions of spheres: An evaluation of two relevant morphological parameters

J. F. Thovert, I. C. Kim, S. Torquato, A. Acrivos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Expressions for the two microstructural parameters that appear in the variational third-order bounds [G. W. Milton, Phys. Rev. Lett. 46, 542 (1981)] for the effective conductivity and elastic moduli of composite media are derived analytically to first order in the sphere concentration c for random well-mixed dispersions of impenetrable spheres with an arbitrary size distribution. These relations lead to rigorous bounds on the effective properties which are exactly valid to order c2 for such models. The apparent linear behavior of the microstructural parameters up to moderately high c enables one to apply the bounds beyond second-order in c, however. Employing these results, the effect of polydispersivity on the effective properties is examined. It is worth noting that, under some conditions, polydispersivity can actually lead to a slight decrease of the shear modulus, whereas, for highly conducting particles, polydispersivity always increases the effective conductivity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)6088-6098
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Applied Physics
Volume67
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 1990
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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