Modeling the mechanical behavior of particulate elastomeric composites by using spreadsheets

An approach to the macroscopic continuum description of the behavior of particulate polymeric composites is suggested, which is based on a constitutive relation in the form of dependence between the density of potential strain energy and the invariants of finite-strain tensor. This dependence, which is obtained in studying the deformation and fracture of structural cells of a special type, is represented not analytically but as spreadsheets containing the results of solving the boundary-value problems of deformation of structural cells at all stages of their life cycle. To create a representative database corresponding to as many combinations of the invariants realized during deformation as possible, different types of loading the structural cells were analyzed. The results obtained allowed us to elaborate a program for numerical experiments. Algorithms for implementing the methods of finite elements and superelements were developed, which allowed us to study the stress-strain state of particulate composite products based on data taken directly from the spreadsheets.