Effective interface forces to model boundary effects in a finite-size metamaterial through the reduced relaxed micromorphic model

Abstract: We use the reduced relaxed micromorphic model (RRMM) to capture the effective "bulk" dynamical response of finite size metamaterial specimens made out of a Labyrinthine unit cell. We show that for small finite-size specimens, boundary effects can play a major role, so that the RRMM needs an enrichment to capture the metamaterial's bulk response, as well as the boundary effects. A benchmark test is introduced to show that different metamaterial/ homogeneous material interfaces can drive completely different responses even if the bulk metamaterial remains the same. We show with no remaining doubts that the concept of "interface forces" must necessarily be introduced if one wants to model finite-size metamaterials in a homogenized framework.