Novel boundary conditions for strain localization analyses in microstructural volume elements

Multi-scale modeling frequently relies on microstructural representative volume elements (RVEs) on which macroscopic deformation is imposed through kinematical boundary conditions. A particular choice of these boundary conditions may influence the obtained effective properties. For strain localization and damage analyses, the RVE is pushed beyond the limits of its representative character, and the applied boundary conditions have a significant impact on the onset and the type of macroscopic material instability to be predicted.