Kinematic limit analysis of periodic heterogeneous media

Homogenization of periodic fiber-reinforced ductile composite materials is performed as for the material strength, i.e. the carrying capacity with respect to macroscopic (average) stresses. Rigid-plastic limit analysis is formulated by the kinematic theorem applied to the representative volume with periodicity boundary conditions and von Mises yield criterion. The iterative procedure adopted for the numerical solution of the minimization problem is comparatively discussed on the basis of applications to various ductile heterogeneous media.