Effective Medium Theory for Particulate Composite Materials Carrying Elastic Waves

In this paper, two major theories of effective medium for composite materials are studied, which provide the average dynamic mechanical properties of particulate composites carrying elastic waves on the basis of the concept of self-consistent scattering of waves. These two theories are also compared in detail with each other to delineate the difference in the underlying ideas and their limitation of applicability. Furthermore, prospective directions for potential improvement of the theories are found. Numerical results for three particulate composites are given and discussed.