Homogenization of elliptic systems with non-periodic, state dependent coefficients

Abstract

In this paper, a homogenization problem for an elliptic system with non-periodic, state dependent coefficients representing microstructure is investigated. The state functions defining the tensor of coefficients are assumed to have an intrinsic length scale denoted by ε > 0. The aim is the derivation of an effective model by investigating the limit process ε → 0 of the state functions rigorously. The effective model is independent of the parameter ε > 0 but preserves the microscopic structure of the state functions (ε > 0), meaning that the effective tensor is given by a unit cell problem prescribed by a suitable microscopic tensor. Due to the non-periodic structure of the state functions and the corresponding microstructure, the effective tensor turns out to vary from point to point (in contrast to a periodic microscopic model). In a forthcoming paper, these states will be solutions of an additional evolution law describing changes of the microstructure. Such changes could be the consequences of temperature changes, phase separation or damage progression, for instance. Here, in addition to the above and as a preparation for an application to time-dependent damage models (discussed in a future paper), we provide a Γ-convergence result of sequences of functionals being related to the previous microscopic models with state dependent coefficients. This requires a penalization term for piecewise constant state functions that allows us to extract from bounded sequences those sequences converging to a Sobolev function in some sense. The construction of the penalization term is inspired by techniques for Discontinuous Galerkin methods and is of own interest. A compactness and a density result are provided.