Convergence analysis of the Böl-Reese discrete model for rubber

In a recent work, Böl and Reese have introduced a discrete model for polymer networks by means of a finite element modeling. They have also provided a comparison with real experiments. A key parameter of their model is the size h of the finite element mesh, that is meant to be small in practice. The aim of the present work is to study the asymptotic behaviour (and the convergence of the finite element method) when the meshsize goes to zero. In particular, we address the properties satisfied by the model at the limit, depending on the properties of the mesh.