BOUNDS FOR THE REAL AND IMAGINARY

OF THE DYNAMIC

MODULI

COMPOSITE VISCOELASTIC

PARTS

OF

SYSTEMS

IF A SYSTEM,consisting of firmly bonded isotropic linearly viscoelastic phases, behaves macroscopically as a homogeneous isotropic material under oscillatory deformation, upper and lower
bounds can be set to both the real and imaginary parts of the complex rigidity and bulk moduh
of the system. These reduce to the Voigt and Reuss bounds on the elastic moduli when the phases
are purely elastic, and to the corresponding bounds on the shear viscosity and bulk viscosity
when the phases are purely viscous.

THE CASE of a system,

composed
of firmly bonded elastic phases, which behaves
as an isotropic homogeneous material on a. macroscopic scale was considered by
HILL (X952). He showed that the overa elastic moduli are bounded above and
below by the Voigt and Reuss estimates respectively. Improved general bounds
were eventually obtained by WALPOLE (1966) in a paper which gives references to
intermediate work on special cases by a number of authors.
In the present work a similar system is considered, but each phase is supposed
to be linearly viscoelastic and isotropic in its mechanical properties. Thus under
oscillatory disturbance the behaviour of the parts of each phase is completely
charaeterised by a density, a complex rigidity modulus and a complex bulk modulus
(both mod&i being in general frequency dependent). It follows from the second
law of therrnod~r~a~~ that the imaginary parts of these moduli are non-negative,
and here it will be ~~~~~ (on the basis of available information ORactual materials)
that the real parts also are non-negative. (In certain special eases the non-negative
character of the real parts follows from considerations of stability. For example,
it may be shown that if the real part of the rigidity were independent of frequency
and negative, free modes of shearing motion which increase exponentially with
time could exist in a volume of the material with an unrestrained boundary.)
The problem of the behaviour of such a system under oscillatory disturbance
has been mentioned by HASHIN (Y964, 1965) but no general results appear to have
been published. The approach has to be somewhat different to that previously
employed for systems with purely elastic phases which is based on extremum
principles applicable only to conservative systems, The problem is afso complicated
by the fact that it refers to a dyrmmie situation so tha% the inertia of the phases

R. ROSCOE

18

has in general to be taken into account. The present work is restricted, however,
to cases in which the frequency of the disturbanee is sufficiently low for inertial
effects to be neglected.

2.

THE COMPLEX MODULI AKD COMPLIANCF.S

The system here considered is subjected to a disturbance varying sinusoidally

with time (frequency w/~QT), so it is convenient to use complex Cartesian tensors
U, E,u varying as exp (iwt) to represent displacement, strain and stress respectively.
These are t.aken to obey the same linear constitutive equations and kinematic
equations as the actual ~~is~la~ern~~lt,
strain and stress in each phase, and to obey
the same boundary conditions. Thus the actual d~s~~lacer~le~li:,
strain and stress
are the real parts of these tensors.
Since the phases are mechanically isotropic, the constitutive equation for each
yields a relation of the form
u == 2/+* E + 3fcr* EV,

(1)

where E, ln are respectively the deviatoric and isotropic parts of Eand the subscript
r refers to the phase. The complex rigidity modulus pr* and complex bulk modulus
Ky*
may be written in terms of their real and imaginary parts :
pr

As

$/&*,

Kr

Kr

iKr.

(2)

an a~te~ati~-e to (I), the stress-&rain relation may be written

E = t.j$.* ot f

3 z,* ue

(3)

where a, u are respectively the deviatoric and isotropic parts of a. The complex
compliances jr*, l,* are the reciprocals of TV+.*,
K~*.
They may be expressed in terms
of their real and imaginary parts :
.lr * = jr - ijrn,

&.* = &. - il r >

(4)

and since pr', pr", Q', I+' are non-negative it follows that j,, jr, lr, Ito are also
non-negative.
3.

THE

REPKESEXTATIVE VOLCME

ELEMEKT

Suppose the con1posit.e system is subjected to oscillatory displa~en~ents ti$

over its surface S. Then as its phases are firmly bonded the displacement within
S is continuous. Application of Gausss divergence theorem thus gives
:

EikdV,,
(Ui ??,&+ Uk Q) dS = 2
7s

(5)

where ~6 is the unit vector drawn normally outwards from the surface element dS,
and dV, is a volume element of the rth phase. Since the surface tractions on phase
boundaries are in equilibrium, the theorem also gives the following results for
the surface tractions (force per unit area) Tt on S :

Bounds for the real and imaginaryparts of Lhedynamic moduli

19

Tz Gg dS = 2
(ai9 cti + UZ~JGi) W,,
r I

(7)

where Et3 Q represent the complex conjugates of us, EZ~.The second term in each
int,cgral may be neglected since the kinematic equation gives aij,i dV, as equal to
the mass-acceleration of the material within dV,., and here inertial effects are
considered to be negligible.
The concept of macroscopic homogeneity may be concisely expressed in terms
of representative Yolume elements, as defined by HILL (1963), HASIXIN(1964)
and Wri~~ord~ (1966). Thus a composite system subjected to prescribed surface
displacements may be said to behave on a macroscopic scale as a homogeneous
body if (and only if) its volume can be broken down into such elements. It is not
necessary here to consider the very special conditions (involving the size of the
phase particles and their statistical geometry as well as the specified distribution
of surface displacements) under which this may be possible.
Now let the surface S considered above be subjected to such surface displacements as would be consistent with a uniform strain of homogeneous material within
it. Then it follows from (5) that this uniform strain is equal to (E), where

Further, let conditions be such that the volume V enclosed by S is itself a representative volume element. This implies that the smoothed values of Tg over S are
such as would be consistent with a uniforr~ ~~istribution of stress in a homogeneous
material within it. Then it follows from (6) that this uniform stress is equal to
<v), where
(v) V = 27

Q dV,,

(9)

and (7) gives the further result that

where now the tensor products are contracted, e.g. v E denotes ugf +.
Since the individual phases are linearly viscoelastic and the composite system
is assumed here to be isotropic on the macroscopic scale, <v) and <c> must be
related by a Iinear equation of the same form as (l), i.e.
<o) = 2p (E) + 82

(P),

01)

where (E), (E) are the deviatoric and isotropic parts of (e> and p*, K* are the
macroscopic complex moduli of the system. When the expression for stress given
by (11) and (I) are inserted in (lo), it is found at once (since the contracted product
of a deviatoric tensor with an isotropic tensor is zero) that
z&2 (t) (a> + 3tc* <L> <Z> = $ z:

7 s

(2f.+* E e + 3K, E z) dV,.

0%

As all the tensor products are real, the following relation must hold between the
real parts of the moduli :

20

R. ROSCOE
2/L.(E)

(?>

3K

(E)

(a)

_:

L?

(2/*,.

E E +

3K;

E 2)

dV,.,

(13)

7 s

and a relation

of the same form must hold for the imaginary

As an alternative
form

to (ll),

the relation
(E) = *j*

where j*, 1 are the macroscopic

plex conjugates
in (lo),

(e)

(a)

(u)

parts of the moduli.

and (E) can be put in the

+ # 1* (u),

compliances

of the expressions

and a similar argument

3 j (u}

between

(I++)

of the composite

material.

The com-

for strain given by (14) and (3) can be inserted

then gives

+ 3 I (a)

(5)

= $ Z 1 (4 j,. u O + 4 l,. U 3) dV,

7

(15)

together with a relation of the same form for the ima.ginary parts of the compliances.

4.
It

is now

BOUNDS

convenient

FOR

THE

MODULI

to introduce

a tensor

AND

COMPLIANCES

q with

deviatoric

and isotropic

parts defined for a point in the rth phase by

and

(17)

where C, is the volume

fraction
.X

r s

where 11is the complex

of the rth phase.

qdVr=o=Z

conjugate

of q.

7s
Insertion

Then it follows

from

(8) that

ijdV,,

(18)

of (16) and (17) in (13) therefore

gives
2,A (E)

(ii)

3K

(El)

(c)

(E)
(2)

+ $ Z

I s

Now p;, K,. and the tensor products

case when (6)

is deviatoric

while consideration

(2~~ I ? + 34. E q 7) dV,.

are non-negative,

and so on considering

(19)
the

it is seen that

of the case when

(c)

is isotropic

gives

(21)
A similar argument

based on the equation

parts of the moduli

in (13) gives

obtained

by changing

real to imaginary

Bounds for the real and imaginaryparts of the dynamic moduli

21

(22)
and

(23)

Again, similar arguments can be constructed in which the roles of stress and
strain are reversed. These are based on (15) and the equation obtained by changing
real to imaginary parts of the compliances in (15) and use is made of (9) instead
of (8). Thus it is found that
c, -1

$3

z,,
7

3r 1

(24)

together with inequalities of the same type for j, I, 1.

Since lower bounds have now been established for the parts of the compliances
as well as for the parts of the moduli, upper bounds can also be obtained. For
example it is possible to write
1
'2=-_
fl2
II
j,2 +jw2
~ )
since j* is the reciprocal of p*.

Application

of the above inequalities then gives

(26)
Appropriate interchange of symbols in (26) gives upper bounds for the other parts
of moduli and compliances. It may be remarked, however, that the inequalities
of the type (20) are not recoverable from those of the type (26), and this suggests
that these upper bounds may not be the best which it is possible to obtain from the
lower bounds.
5.

DISCUSSION

When the phases of the composite system are purely elastic, the moduli are
real and are usually written simply as CL,.and I+, The inequalities (20) and (25)
here reduce to

where p is the real rigidity modulus of the system, and bounds of the same form
are obtainable for the real bulk modulus K in terms of the K,.. These are, of course,
the Reuss and Voigt bounds established for the elastic case by HILL (1952). At the
other extreme when the phases are purely viscous, the moduli are purely imaginary,
and it is usual to consider instead the viscosities (pr/w, KrH/W).
The inequalities
derived above then give the following bounds for the shear viscosity 77,

and bounds of the same form for the bulk viscosity. It is well known that these
may be derived from the bounds for the elastic case by making use of the exact

R. ROSCOE

22

parallelism between the equations governing infinitesimal elastic deformations

and
those governing viscous flow under quasi-static
conditions.
Considerable
improvements,
exemplified
by the work of WALPOLE (1966),
can be made on the Reuss and Voigt bounds in the purely elastic and viscous cases.
This

suggests

mentary

that

method

the bounds

obtained

are by no means

here for the viscoelastic

the best that

case by an ele-

may be found.

REFERENCES
HASHIN, 2.

1964
1965

HILL, R.

1952
1963
1966

WALPOLE,

L.J.

Appl. Mech. Rev. 17, 1.

Proc. 4th Int. Congr. Rhrology (Edited by LEE, E. H. and
COPLEY, A. L.), Part 3, p. 30. Interscience, New York.
Proc. phys. Sot. A 65, 349.
J. Mech. Phys. Solids 11, 357.
J. Mech. Phys. Solids 14, 151.