The present volume offers a state-of-the-art report on the various recent scientific developments in the Theory of Porous Media (TPM) comprehending the basic theoretical concepts in continuum mechanics on porous and multiphasic materials as well as the wide range of experimental and numerical applications. Following this, the volume does not only address the sophisticated reader but also the interested beginner in the area of Porous Media by presenting a collection of articles. These articles written by experts in the field concern the fundamental approaches to multiphasic and porous materials as well as various applications to engineering problems.

Con?gurational mechanics has attracted quite a bit of attention from various - search ?elds over the recent years/decades. Having been regarded in its infancy of the early years as a somewhat obscureand almost mystic ?eld of researchthat could only be understood by a happy few of insiders with a pronounced theoretical inc- nation, con?gurational mechanics has developed by now into a versatile tool that can be applied to a variety of problems. Since the seminal works of Eshelby a general notion of con?gurational - chanics has been developed and has successfully been applied to many pr- lems involving various types of defects in continuous media. The most pro- nent application is certainly the use of con?gurational forces in fracture - chanics. However, as con?gurational mechanics is related to arbitrary mat- ial inhomogeneities it has also very successfully been applied to many ma- rials science and engineering problems such as phase transitions and inelastic deformations. Also the modeling of materials with micro-structure evolution is an important ?eld, in which con?gurational mechanics can provide a better understanding of processes going on within the material. Besides these mechanically, physically, and chemically motivated applications, ideas from con?gurational mechanics are now increasingly applied within computational mechanics.

The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) represents the current position in about a hundred years of evolutionary growth of the worldwide telecommunications infrastructure. This evolution is by no means complete and the next few years will see the emergence of a "Broad-band" ISDN as the next stage of evolutionary development. It is important to appreciate the evolutionary nature of the telecommunications infrastructure if one is to properly understand much of the thinking that lies behind the current ISDN proposals. This book therefore begins with a number of chapters devoted to a study of the various developments which have eventually led to the concept of an integrated digital network. These include the development of digital transmission of speech using PCM and the development of digital switching techniques based on stored program control. The book then turns to a consideration of those features of the existing telecommunications network which need to be modified in order to make ISDN a realizable practicality. Of particular importance is the digitization of transmission over the links between the user and the local exchange. Next we look at the current practice and proposals for ISDN based on the technology presently in use in the telephone network. Finally, we look at the proposals for a broadband ISDN likely to become widely available by the turn of the century.

At the opening of the "Third Meeting on Celestial Mechanics - CELMEC III", strong sensations hit our minds. The conference (18-22 June 2001) was being held in Villa Mondragone, a beautiful complex of buildings and gardens located within the township of Monte Porzio Catone, on the hills surrounding Rome. A former papal residence, the building has been recently restored by the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" to host academic activities and events. The conference room is called "Salone degli Svizzeri": here, Gregory XIII, on February 24, 1582, gave its sanction to the reform of the Julian calendar and declared officially in use the calendar still adopted nowadays. The magnificent high walls and tall ceiling strongly resounded, giving to our voice a peculiar Vatican sound, which took us by surprise. May be - we thought - a distant echo of the very words of Gregory XIII proclaiming the modem calendar was still haunting the room. Around us, in the audience, many countries were represented, thus indicating that the idea of putting together the three "souls" of modem Celestial Mechanics - perturbation theories, solar and stellar system studies, spaceflight dynamic- had been successful. CELMEC III is in fact the latest of a series of meetings (the first two editions took place in 1993 and 1997 in L' Aquila, Italy) whose aim is to establish a common ground among people working in Celestial Mechanics, yet belonging to different institutions such as universities, astronomical observatories, research institutes, space agencies and industries.

This symposium was devoted to a new celestial mechanics whose aim has become the study of such objects' as the planetary system, planetary rings, the asteroidal belt, meteor swarms, satellite systems, comet families, the zodiacal cloud, the preplanetary nebula, etc. When the three-body problem is considered instead of individual orbits we are, now, looking for the topology of extended regions of its phase space. This Symposium was one step in the effort to close the ties between two scientific families: the observationally-oriented scientists and the theoretically-oriented scientists.

This book is about the pattern formation and the evolution of crack propagation in engineering materials and structures, bridging mathematical analyses of cracks based on singular integral equations, to computational simulation of engineering design. The first two parts of this book focus on elasticity and fracture and provide the basis for discussions on fracture morphology and its numerical simulation, which may lead to a simulation-based fracture control in engineering structures. Several design concepts are discussed for the prevention of fatigue and fracture in engineering structures, including safe-life design, fail-safe design, damage tolerant design.

After starting with basic elasticity and fracture theories in parts one and two, this book focuses on the fracture morphology that develops due to the propagation of brittle cracks or fatigue cracks.

In part three, the mathematical analysis of a curved crack is precisely described, based on the perturbation method. The stability theory of interactive cracks propagating in brittle solids may help readers to understand the formation of a fractal-like cracking patterns in brittle solids, while the stability theory of crack paths helps to identify the straight versus sharply curved or sometimes wavy crack paths observed in brittle solids.

In part four, the numerical simulation method of a system of multiple cracks is introduced by means of the finite element method, which may be used for the better implementation of fracture control in engineering structures.

This book is part of a series on Mathematics for Industry and will appeal to structural engineers seeking to understand the basic backgrounds of analyses, but also to mathematicians with an interest in how such mathematical solutions are evaluated in industrial applications."

This treatise is a compendium of refereed papers based on invited talks presented at the American Chemical Society Symposium on Electrorheological (ER) Materials and Fluids. ER fluids were first investigated 50+ years ago. These fluids, which change rheology when placed in an electric field, were recognized, from the beginning, for allowing an extremely efficient interface between electrical control and mechanical devices. Critical problems, however, existed with the initial fluids, which prevented them from serious consideration for large-scale applications. While over time some of the critical problems have been solved and activity in ER technology has increased, commercial success has remained elusive. A recent Department of Energy report concluded that a primary reason for the failure to commercialize this promising technology is due to a lack in understanding the physics and chemistry of how the materials work. The goal of the symposium was to address the issue of understanding how ER materials work and how they can be used. One of the outcomes of the symposium, which we hope is conveyed in this book, is a feeling that if the mechanism of ER is to be fully understood and improved, expertise from diverse fields must be applied to the problem.

This text provides an introduction, at the level of an advanced student in engineering or physics, to the field of nanomechanics and nanomechanical devices. It provides a unified discussion of solid mechanics, transducer applications, and sources of noise and nonlinearity in such devices. Demonstrated applications of these devices, as well as an introduction to fabrication techniques, are also discussed. The text concludes with an overview of future technologies, including the potential use of carbon nanotubes and other molecular assemblies.

This thesis presents significant new results on the problem of understanding the origin of dark energy in cosmology. The work develops an original approach based on modifications of General Relativity at cosmological scales, introducing non -local effective terms that can in principle emerge from fundamental local theories. Both the phenomenological consequences and theoretical aspects of the proposal are developed in depth. The thesis also contains significant new material compared to that published by the author in scientific journals.

Theory of vibrations belongs to principal subjects needed for training mechani cal engineers in technological universities. Therefore, the basic goal of the mono graph "Advanced Theory of Vibrations 1" is to help students studying vibration theory for gaining experience in application of this theory for solving particular problems. Thus, while choosing the problems and methods to solve them, the close attention was paid to the applied content of vibration theory. The monograph is devoted to systems with a single degree of freedom and sys tems with a finite number of degrees of freedom. In particular, problems are for mulated associated with determination of frequencies and forms of vibrations, study of forced vibrations, analysis of both stable and unstable vibrations (includ ing those caused by periodic but anharmonic forces). The problems of nonlinear vibrations and of vibration stability, and those related to seeking probabilistic characteristics for solutions to these problems in the case of random forces are also considered. Problems related to parametric vibrations and statistical dynamics of mechanical systems, as well as to determination of critical parameters and of dy namic stability are also analyzed. As a rule, problems presented in the monograph are associated with particular mechanical systems and can be applied for current studies in vibration theory. Al lowing for interests of students independently studying theory of vibrations, the majority of problems are supplied with either detailed solutions or algorithms of the solutions."

This book introduces readers to the fundamentals of simulating and analyzing built and natural environments using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. CFD offers a powerful tool for dealing with various scientific and engineering problems and is widely used in diverse industries. This book focuses on the most important aspects of applying CFD to the study of urban, buildings, and indoor and outdoor environments. Following the logical procedure used to prepare a CFD simulation, the book covers e.g. the governing equations, boundary conditions, numerical methods, modeling of different fluid flows, and various turbulence models. Furthermore, it demonstrates how CFD can be applied to solve a range of engineering problems, providing detailed hands-on exercises on air and water flow, heat transfer, and pollution dispersion problems that typically arise in the study of buildings and environments. The book also includes practical guidance on analyzing and reporting CFD results, as well as writing CFD reports/papers.

The book presents a unified and well-developed approach to the dynamics of angular motions of rigid bodies subjected to perturbation torques of different physical nature. It contains both the basic foundations of the rigid body dynamics and of the asymptotic method of averaging. The rigorous approach based on the averaging procedure is applicable to bodies with arbitrary ellipsoids of inertia. Action of various perturbation torques, both external (gravitational, aerodynamical, solar pressure) and internal (due to viscous fluid in tanks, elastic and visco-elastic properties of a body) is considered in detail. The book can be used by researchers, engineers and students working in attitude dynamics of spacecraft.

This is the second volume of three books devoted to Mechanics. In this book, dynamical and advanced mechanics problems are stated, illustrated, and discussed, including a few novel concepts in comparison to standard text books and monographs. Apart from being addressed to a wide spectrum of graduate students, postgraduate students, researchers, and teachers from the fields of mechanical and civil engineering, this volume is also intended to be used as a self-contained material for applied mathematicians and physical scientists and researchers.

The free electron laser (FEL) will be an outstanding tool for research and industrial application. This book describes the physical fundamentals on the basis of classical mechanics, electrodynamics, and the kinetic theory of charged particle beams, and will be suitable for graduate students and scientists alike.After a short introduction, the book discusses the theory of the FEL amplifier and oscillator and diffraction effects in the amplifier. Waveguide FEL and shot noise are also treated.

This textbook offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to analytical mechanics, one of the core components of undergraduate physics courses. The book starts with a thorough introduction into Lagrangian mechanics, detailing the d'Alembert principle, Hamilton's principle and conservation laws. It continues with an in-depth explanation of Hamiltonian mechanics, illustrated by canonical and Legendre transformation, the generalization to quantum mechanics through Poisson brackets and all relevant variational principles. Finally, the Hamilton-Jacobi theory and the transition to wave mechanics are presented in detail. Ideally suited to undergraduate students with some grounding in classical mechanics, the book is enhanced throughout with learning features such as boxed inserts and chapter summaries, with key mathematical derivations highlighted to aid understanding. The text is supported by numerous worked examples and end of chapter problem sets. About the Theoretical Physics series Translated from the renowned and highly successful German editions, the eight volumes of this series cover the complete core curriculum of theoretical physics at undergraduate level. Each volume is self-contained and provides all the material necessary for the individual course topic. Numerous problems with detailed solutions support a deeper understanding. Wolfgang Nolting is famous for his refined didactical style and has been referred to as the "German Feynman" in reviews.

Rapid Prototyping of Application Specific Signal Processors presents leading-edge research that focuses on design methodology, infrastructure support and scalable architectures developed by the 150 million dollar DARPA United States Department of Defense RASSP Program. The contributions to this edited work include an introductory overview chapter that explains the origin, concepts and status of this effort. The RASSP Program is a multi-year DARPA/Tri-Service initiative intended to dramatically improve the process by which complex digital systems, particularly embedded signal processors, are designed, manufactured, upgraded and supported. This program was originally driven by military applications for signal processing. The requirements of military applications for real-time signal processing are typically more demanding than those of commercial applications, but the time gap between technology employed in advanced military prototypes and commercial products is narrowing rapidly. The research on methodologies, infrastructure and architectures presented in this book is applicable to commercial signal processing systems that are in design now, or will be developed before the end of the decade. Rapid Prototyping of Application Specific Signal Processors is a valuable reference for developers of embedded digital systems, particularly systems engineers for signal processing systems (such as digital TV, biomedical image processing systems and telecommunications) and for military contractors who are developing signal processing systems. This book will also be of interest to managers who are charged with responsibility for creating and maintaining environments and infrastructures for developing large embedded digital systems. The chief value for managers will be the defining of methods and processes that reduce development time and cost.

The work presented in this text relates to research work in the general area of adaptive filter theory and practice which has been carried out at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Edinburgh since 1977. Much of the earlier work in the department was devoted to looking at the problems associated with the physical implementation of these structures. This text relates to research which has been undertaken since 1984 which is more involved with the theoretical development of adaptive algorithms. The text sets out to provide a coherent framework within which general adaptive algorithms for finite impulse response adaptive filters may be evaluated. It further presents one approach to the problem of finding a stable solution to the infinite impulse response adaptive filter problem. This latter objective being restricted to the communications equaliser application area. The authors are indebted to a great number of people for their help, guidance and encouragement during the course of preparing this text. We should first express our appreciation for the support given by two successive heads of department at Edinburgh, Professor J. H. Collins and Professor J. Mavor. The work reported here could not have taken place without their support and also that of many colleagues, principally Professor P. M. Grant who must share much of the responsibility for instigating this line of research at Edinburgh.

Computational Methods for Microstructure-Property Relationships introduces state-of-the-art advances in computational modeling approaches for materials structure-property relations. Written with an approach that recognizes the necessity of the engineering computational mechanics framework, this volume provides balanced treatment of heterogeneous materials structures within the microstructural and component scales. Encompassing both computational mechanics and computational materials science disciplines, this volume offers an analysis of the current techniques and selected topics important to industry researchers, such as deformation, creep and fatigue of primarily metallic materials.

Researchers, engineers and professionals involved with predicting performance and failure of materials will find Computational Methods for Microstructure-Property Relationships a valuable reference.

An ideal text for advanced undergraduates, the book provides the foundations needed to understand the acoustics of rooms and musical instruments as well as the basics for scientists and engineers interested in noise and vibration. The new edition contains four new chapters devoted primarily to applications of acoustical principles in everyday life: Microphones and Other Transducers, Sound in Concert Halls and Studios, Sound and Noise Outdoors; and Underwater Sound.

The book analyzes the basic problems of oscillation processes and theoretical aspects of noise and vibration in friction systems. It presents generalized information available in literature data and results of the authors in vibroacoustics of friction joints, including car brakes and transmissions. The authors consider the main approaches to abatement of noise and vibration in non-stationary friction processes. Special attention is paid to materials science aspects, in particular to advanced composite materials used to improve the vibroacoustic characteristics of tribopairs The book is intended for researchers and technicians, students and post-graduates specializing in mechanical engineering, maintenance of machines and transport means, production certification, problems of friction and vibroacoustics.

Non-Newtonian properties on bubble dynamics and cavitation are fundamentally different from those of Newtonian fluids. The most significant effect arises from the dramatic increase in viscosity of polymer solutions in an extensional flow, such as that generated about a spherical bubble during its growth or collapse phase. In addition, many biological fluids, such as blood, synovial fluid, and saliva, have non-Newtonian properties and can display significant viscoelastic behaviour. This monograph elucidates general aspects of bubble dynamics and cavitation in non-Newtonian fluids and applies them to the fields of biomedicine and bioengineering. In addition it presents many examples from the process industries. The field is strongly interdisciplinary and the numerous disciplines involve have and will continue to overlook and reinvent each others' work. This book helps researchers to think intuitively about the diverse physics of these systems, to attempt to bridge the various communities involved, and to convey the interest, elegance, and variety of physical phenomena that manifest themselves on the micrometer and microsecond scales.

Dynamic Failure of Materials and Structures discusses the topic of dynamic loadings and their effect on material and structural failure. Since dynamic loading problems are very difficult as compared to their static counterpart, very little information is currently available about dynamic behavior of materials and structures. Topics covered include the response of both metallic as well as polymeric composite materials to blast loading and shock loadings, impact loadings and failure of novel materials under more controlled dynamic loads. These include response of soft materials that are important in practical use but have very limited information available on their dynamic response. Dynamic fragmentation, which has re-emerged in recent years has also been included. Both experimental as well as numerical aspects of material and structural response to dynamic loads are discussed.

Written by several key experts in the field, Dynamic Failure of Materials and Structures will appeal to graduate students and researchers studying dynamic loadings within mechanical and civil engineering, as well as in physics and materials science.

This volume collects the edited and reviewed contributions presented in the 6th iTi Conference in Bertinoro, covering fundamental and applied aspects in turbulence. In the spirit of the iTi conference, the volume has been produced after the conference so that the authors had the possibility to incorporate comments and discussions raised during the meeting. In the present book the contributions have been structured according to the topics : I Theory II Wall bounded flows III Particles in flows IV Free flows V Complex flows The volume is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Konrad Bajer who prematurely passed away in Warsaw on August 29, 2014.