THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND EFFECTIVE DIELECTRIC RESPONSE OF NONLINEAR COMPOSITES - DECOUPLING TECHNIQUE AND VARIATIONAL METHOD

The decoupling technique has been applied to nonlinear composites of c oated spherical inclusions. The method allows us to convert establishe d results in linear composites to nonlinear ones with identical micros tructure. Results are compared with those of the variational method an d hence the quality of the approximation can be examined. For coated s pheres with nonlinear shell embedded in a linear host, the results sho w that a relatively thin nonlinear coating may approach the enhancemen t effects of a solid nonlinear sphere of the same radius under appropr iate conditions.