On the multiplicity of the surface boundary condition in composite materials

We propose the procedure of an analytical treatment of the boundary conditi on formulated on the surface of the periodically inhomogeneous material. By applying appropriate Fourier transformations the procedure converts the co mposite surface into an equivalent multiple homogeneous surface. In terms o f effectivity, the method reduces the composite boundary condition to a spe cific eigenproblem condition, which constitutes the spectrum of eigenvalues of nn effective surface parameter, a novel quantity we introduce to accoun t for the nonhomogeneity of the composite surface. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scienc e B.V. All rights reserved.