On a theory of thermoelastic materials with double porosity structure

Electronic version of an article published as "Journal of thermal stresses", vol. 37, no 9, 2014, p. 1017-1036. DOI: 10.1080/01495739.2014.914776 In this article, we use the Nunziato–Cowin theory of materials with voids to derive a theory of thermoelastic solids, which have a double porosity structure. The new theory is not based on Darcy's law. In the case of equilibrium, in contrast with the classical theory of elastic materials with double porosity, the porosity structure of the body is influenced by the displacement field. We prove the uniqueness of solutions by means of the logarithmic convexity arguments as well as the instability of solutions whenever the internal energy is not positive definite. Later, we use semigroup arguments to prove the existence of solutions in the case that the internal energy is positive. The deformation of an elastic space with a spherical cavity is investigated.Peer Reviewe