Homogenization of a Poroelasticity Model for Fibre-Reinforced Hydrogels

Abstract: In this paper, the analysis and homogenization of a poroelastic model for the hydro-mechanical response of fibre-reinforced hydrogels is considered. Here, the medium in question is considered to be a highly heterogeneous two-component media composed of a connected fibre-scaffold with periodically distributed inclusions of hydrogel. While the fibres are assumed to be elastic, the hydromechanical response of hydrogel is modeled via \emph{Biot's poroelasticity}. We show that the resulting mathematical problem admits a unique weak solution and investigate the limit behavior (in the sense of two-scale convergence) of the solutions with respect to a scale parameter, characterizing the heterogeneity of the medium. Letting this scale parameter tend to zero, we arrive at an effective model where the micro variations of the pore pressure give rise to a micro stress correction at the macro scale.