Equivalent inclusion approach and effective medium approximations for the effective conductivity of isotropic multicomponent materials

Most effective medium approximations for isotropic inhomogeneous materials are based on dilute solutions of some typical inclusions in an infinite matrix medium, while the simplest approximations are those for the composites with spherical and circular inclusions. Practical particulate composites often involve inhomogeneities of more complicated geometry than that of the spherical (or circular) one. In our approach, those inhomogeneities are supposed to be substituted by simple equivalent spherical (circular) inclusions from a comparison of their respective dilute solution results. Then the available simple approximations for the equivalent spherical (circular) inclusion material can be used to estimate the effective conductivity of the original composite. Numerical illustrations of the approach are performed on some 2D and 3D geometries involving elliptical and ellipsoidal inclusions.