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The Geometrical Language of Continuum Mechanics

The Geometrical Language of Continuum Mechanics

The Geometrical Language of Continuum Mechanics

Marcelo Epstein, University of Calgary
January 2014
Paperback
9781107617032

    Epstein presents the fundamental concepts of modern differential geometry within the framework of continuum mechanics. Divided into three parts of roughly equal length, the book opens with a motivational chapter to impress upon the reader that differential geometry is indeed the natural language of continuum mechanics or, better still, that the latter is a prime example of the application and materialisation of the former. In the second part, the fundamental notions of differential geometry are presented with rigor using a writing style that is as informal as possible. Differentiable manifolds, tangent bundles, exterior derivatives, Lie derivatives, and Lie groups are illustrated in terms of their mechanical interpretations. The third part includes the theory of fiber bundles, G-structures, and groupoids, which are applicable to bodies with internal structure and to the description of material inhomogeneity. The abstract notions of differential geometry are thus illuminated by practical and intuitively meaningful engineering applications.

    • Motivational chapter demonstrates to the reader the advantages of a geometrical approach to mechanics
    • Emphasises the application of the mathematical concepts to the mechanics of deformable media by means of conceptual examples
    • Each chapter includes exercises at various levels of difficulty, allowing readers to test their understanding of concepts

    Reviews & endorsements

    The Geometrical Language of Continuum Mechanics brings a fresh quality to this subject by blending differential topology with tensor analysis....the author is commended for making the materials accessible to the reader by including in the first chapter excellent introductory background topics, which are essential for unraveling interconnected abstractions in subsequent chapters." R.N Laoulache, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

    "...the author is commended for making the materials accessible to the reader by including in the first chapter excellent introductory background topics, which are essential for unraveling interconnected abstractions in subsequent chapters. ...Recommended." CHOICE

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    Product details

    January 2014
    Paperback
    9781107617032
    326 pages
    254 × 178 × 17 mm
    0.57kg
    39 b/w illus. 142 exercises
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Part I. Motivation and Background:
    • 1. The case for differential geometry
    • 2. Vector and affine spaces
    • 3. Tensor algebras and multivectors
    • Part II. Differential Geometry:
    • 4. Differentiable manifolds
    • 5. Lie derivatives, lie groups, lie algebras
    • 6. Integration and fluxes
    • Part III. Further Topics:
    • 7. Fibre bundles
    • 8. Inhomogeneity theory
    • 9. Connection, curvature, torsion
    • Appendix A. A primer in continuum mechanics.
    Resources for
    Type
    Epstein_errata_brief_version.pdf
    Size: 29.45 KB
    Type: application/pdf
      Author
    • Marcelo Epstein , University of Calgary

      Marcelo Epstein is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Calgary, Canada. His main research has centered around the various aspects of modern continuum mechanics and its applications. A secondary related area of interest is biomechanics. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics, recipient of the Cancam prize and University Professor of Rational Mechanics. He is also adjunct Professor in the Faculties of Humanities and Kinesiology at the University of Calgary.