Recovery of information on the microstructure of porous/microcracked materials from the effective elastic/conductive properties

Recovery of microstructural information from the effective properties (elastic and conductive) is analyzed. We consider materials with porous/cracked microstructures that are, generally, anisotropic. The extent of uncertainty in such information recovery is discussed. The analysis utilizes an approximate representation of the fourth rank tensor of elastic constants in terms of a certain second rank tensor. This results in a relatively simple theoretical framework, requiring a reduced number of the effective moduli for the information recovery. Applications to geomaterials, to thermal barrier coatings and to the bone tissue are considered.