Multiscale identification of the random elasticity field at mesoscale of a heterogeneous microstructure using multiscale experimental observations

Abstract : This paper deals with a multiscale statistical inverse method for performing the experimental identification of the elastic properties of materials at macroscale and at mesoscale within the framework of a heterogeneous microstructure which is modeled by a random elastic media. New methods are required for carrying out such multiscale identification using experimental measurements of the displacement fields carried out at macroscale and at mesoscale with only a single specimen submitted to a given external load at macroscale. In this paper, for a heterogeneous microstructure, a new identification method is presented and formulated within the framework of the three-dimensional linear elasticity. It permits the identification of the effective elasticity tensor at macroscale, and the identification of the tensor-valued random field, which models the apparent elasticity field at mesoscale. A validation is presented first with simulated experiments using a numerical model based on the hypothesis of 2D-plane stresses. Then, we present the results given by the proposed identification procedure for experimental measurements obtained by digital image correlation (DIC) on cortical bone.