A composite model for municipal solid waste

The mechanical behaviour of municipal solid waste is very complex due to the internal structure and differs considerably from ordinary materials. The fundamental idea of the presented mechanical constitutive model is the split of the material into two solid phases, justified by experimental observations, where fibrous particles signi.cantly influence the composite behaviour. Constitutive laws are independently introduced for each phase. A .nite deformation theory is applied, whereas the concept of elastoplasticity allows reproducing the highly non‐linear stress‐strain relations. A creep law describes time‐depending deformation under compression loads. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)