Composite Media and Homogenization Theory

This volume contains the Proceedings of the Workshop on Composite Media and Homogenization Theory held in Trieste, Italy, from January 15 to 26, 1990. The workshop was organized by the International Centre for Theo retical Physics (ICTP); part of the activity was co-sponsored by the Interna tional School for Advanced Studies (SISSA). The workshop covered a broad range of topics in the mathematical the ory of composite materials and homogenization. Among the specific areas of focus were homogenization of periodic and nonperiodic structures, porous me dia, asymptotic analysis for linear and nonlinear problems, optimal bounds for effective moduli, waves in composite materials, optimal design and relaxation, random media. The workshop was actively attended by more than 100 participants from 23 countries. In the afternoon sessions 35 seminars were delivered by the participants. This volume contains research articles corresponding to 14 of the 20 invited talks which were presented. Its content will be of interest both to mathematicians working in the field and to applied mathematicians and engineers interested in modelling the behaviour of composite and random media We are pleased to express here our thanks to the ICTP for having made this workshop possible, to Ms. A. Bergamo for her continuous help during the workshop, and to Ms. C. Parma for her collaboration in editing the proceedings. Gianni Dal Maso Gian Fausto Dell'Antonio SIS SA, Trieste Universita "La Sapienza", Roma v Contents Preface ................................................................................ v List of Speakers ..................................................................... ix Contributors .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .