| Abstract: | A unified approach is presented for modeling the elastic and dissipative moduli of substances composed of pressurized cells. The substances examined include liquid foams, physiological tissues such as lung and udder, and plant tissues such as vegetables and leaves. All are characterized by macroscopic elastic moduli linearly proportional to the inflating pressure. An isotropic dodecahedron is chosen to represent the basic microunit of such a structure. Variational statements of nonlinear structural mechanics, applied to the dodecahedron, bring out the specific macromechanical properties of the cellular material under static and dynamic loading, in terms of the mechanical attributes of its microunits. |
