Dual finite element methods in mechanics of composite materials

Application of the finite element method to homogenization of a fibrous, linearly elastic, composite material is considered in the paper. The finite element method is used in two approaches based on dual variational principles which give two approximate solutions: the kinematically and statically admissible ones. Having these two solutions one can easily evaluate the lower and upper bounds for effective moduli of a homogenized material. The paper contains the formulation of the method used to solve the considered problem, and some examples of numerical results.