  The prediction of the effective elastic properties of polymer bonded
explosives using direct numerical simulations is computationally expensive
because of the high volume fraction of particles in these particulate
composites ($\sim$0.90) and the strong modulus contrast between the particles
and the binder ($\sim$20,000). The generalized method of cells (GMC) is an
alternative to direct numerical simulations for the determination of effective
elastic properties of composites. GMC has been shown to be more computationally
efficient than finite element analysis based approaches for a range of
composites. In this investigation, the applicability of GMC to the
determination of effective elastic properties of polymer bonded explosives is
explored. GMC is shown to generate excellent estimates of effective moduli for
composites containing square arrays of disks at volume fractions less than 0.60
and a modulus contrast of approximately 100.
