05/09/2016, 15:00 — 15:40 — Amphitheatre Pa2, Mathematics Building
José Matias, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa

Optimal Design of Fractured Media with Prescribed Macroscopic Strain

In this work we consider an optimal design problem for two-component fractured media for which a macroscopic strain is prescribed. Within the framework of structured deformations, we derive an integral representation for the relaxed energy functional. We start from an energy functional accounting for bulk and surface contributions coming from both constituents of the material; the relaxed energy densities, obtained via a blow-up method, are determined by a delicate interplay between the optimization of sharp interfaces and the diffusion of microcracks. This model has the far-reaching perspective to incorporate elements of plasticity in optimal design of composite media.

This is a joint work with M. Morandotti (SISSA) and Elvira Zappalle (U. degli Studi di Salerno).