On the capabilities of mean-field approaches for the description of plasticity in metal matrix composites

A numerical study is performed, based on unit cell finite element analyses in the context of periodic homogenization. It delivers reference solutions for the overall stress-strain responses with various local constitutive behaviours. In accordance with some previous findings, the systematic comparisons of the mean-field approximation methods leads to the conclusion that only the isotropic approximations of the tangent operators are able to deliver acceptable overall responses.