The 3rd edition of this popular textbook covers current topics in all areas of casting solidification. Partial differential equations and numerical analysis are used extensively throughout the text, with numerous calculation examples, to help the reader in achieving a working knowledge of computational solidification modeling. The features of this new edition include: * new chapters on semi-solid and metal matrix composites solidification * a significantly extended treatment of multiscale modeling of solidification and its applications to commercial alloys * a survey of new topics such as solidification of multicomponent alloys and molecular dynamic modeling * new theories, including a theory on oxide bi-films in the treatment of shrinkage problems * an in-depth treatment of the theoretical aspects of the solidification of the most important commercial alloys including steel, cast iron, aluminum-silicon eutectics, and superalloys * updated tables of material constants.

This book offers a succinct but comprehensive description of the mechanics of muscle contraction and legged terrestrial locomotion. It describes on the one hand how the fundamental properties of muscle tissue affect the mechanics of locomotion, and on the other, how the mechanics of locomotion modify the mechanism of muscle operation under different conditions. Further, the book reports on the design and results of experiments conducted with two goals. The first was to describe the physiological function of muscle tissue (which may be considered as the "motor") contracting at a constant length, during shortening, during lengthening, and under a condition that occurs most frequently in the back-and-forth movement of the limbs during locomotion, namely the stretch-shortening cycle of the active muscle. The second objective was to analyze the interaction between the motor and the "machine" (the skeletal lever system) during walking and running in different scenarios with respect to speed, step frequency, body mass, gravity, age, and pathological gait. The book will be of considerable interest to physiology, biology and physics students, and provides researchers with stimuli for further experimental and analytical work.

This book provides the reader with a review of the most relevant research on the structural characterization and seismic retrofitting of adobe construction. It offers a complete review of the latest research developments, and hence the relevance of the field. The book starts with an introductory discussion on adobe construction and its use throughout the world over time, highlighting characteristics and performance of adobe masonry structures as well as different contributions for cultural heritage conservation (Chapter 1). Then, the seismic behaviour of adobe masonry buildings is addressed, including examples of real performance during recent earthquakes (Chapter 2). In the following chapters, key research investigations on seismic response assessment and retrofitting of adobe constructions are reviewed. The review deals with the following issues: mechanical characterization of adobe bricks and adobe masonry (Chapters 3 and 4); quasi-static and shaking table testing of adobe masonry walls and structures (Chapters 5 and 6); non-destructive and minor-destructive testing for characterization of adobe constructions (Chapter 7); seismic strengthening techniques for adobe constructions (Chapter 8); and numerical modelling of adobe structures (Chapter 9). The book ends with Chapter 10, where some general conclusions are drawn and research needs are identified. Each chapter is co-authored by a group of experts from different countries to comprehensively address all issues of adobe constructions from a worldwide perspective. The information covered in this book is fundamental to support civil engineers and architects in the rehabilitation and strengthening of existing adobe constructions and also in the design of new adobe buildings. This information is also of interest to researchers, by providing a summary of existing research and suggesting possible directions for future research efforts.

This volume introduces a comprehensive theory of deformation and fracture to engineers and applied scientists. Here "comprehensive" means that the theory can describe all stages of deformation from elastic to plastic and plastic to fracturing stage on the same basis (equations). The comprehensive approach is possible because the theory is based on a fundamental physical principle called the local symmetry, or gauge invariance, as opposed to phenomenology. Professor Yoshida explains the gist of local symmetry (gauge invariance) intuitively so that engineers and applied physicists can digest it easily, rather than describing physical or mathematical details of the principle. The author also describes applications of the theory to practical engineering, such as nondestructive testing in particular, with the use of an optical interferometric technique called ESPI (Electronic Speckle-Pattern Interferometry).The book is not a manual of applications. Instead, it provides information on how to apply physical concepts to engineering applications.

This book helps the reader to understand the specific properties of piezoelectric ceramic resonators. It provides their theoretical description by immitance and equivalent circuit method. The nummerical modelling described is accompanied by examples of properties measured experimentally. Piezoelectric ceramic transformers are also covered, followed by a series of solved and unsolved problems prepared specially for students.

This book presents papers surrounding the extensive discussions that took place from the 'Variational Analysis and Aerospace Engineering' workshop held at the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture in 2015. Contributions to this volume focus on advanced mathematical methods in aerospace engineering and industrial engineering such as computational fluid dynamics methods, optimization methods in aerodynamics, optimum controls, dynamic systems, the theory of structures, space missions, flight mechanics, control theory, algebraic geometry for CAD applications, and variational methods and applications. Advanced graduate students, researchers, and professionals in mathematics and engineering will find this volume useful as it illustrates current collaborative research projects in applied mathematics and aerospace engineering.

This book discusses bulk solids that derive their mechanical properties not from those of their base materials, but from their designed microstructures. Focusing on the negative mechanical properties, it addresses topics that reveal the counter-intuitive nature of solids, specifically the negativity of properties that are commonly positive, such as negative bulk modulus, negative compressibility, negative hygroexpansion, negative thermal expansion, negative stiffness phase, and negative Poisson's ratio. These topics are significant not only due to the curiosity they have sparked, but also because of the possibility of designing materials and structures that can behave in ways that are not normally expected in conventional solids, and as such, of materials that can outperform solids and structures made from conventional materials. The book includes illustrations to facilitate learning, and, where appropriate, reference tables. The presentation is didactic, starting with simple cases, followed by increasingly complex ones. It provides a solid foundation for graduate students, and a valuable resource for practicing materials engineers seeking to develop novel materials through the judicious design of microstructures and their corresponding mechanisms.

The book presents homogeneous solutions in static and dynamical problems of anisotropic theory of elasticity, which are constructed for a hollow cylinder. It also offers an asymptotic process for finding frequencies of natural vibrations of a hollow cylinder, and establishes a qualitative study of several applied theories of the boundaries of applicability. Further the authors develop a general theory for a transversally isotropic spherical shell, which includes methods for constructing inhomogeneous and homogeneous solutions that allow the characteristic features of the stress-strain state of an anisotropic spherical shell to be revealed. Lastly, the book introduces an asymptotic method for integrating the equations of anisotropic theory of elasticity in variable thickness plates and shells. Based on the results of the author and researchers at Baku State University and the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, ANAS, the book is intended for specialists in the field of theory of elasticity, theory of plates and shells, and applied mathematics.

This book highlights time reversal acoustics, techniques based on the symmetry properties of acoustic fields. It has the unique feature that the first eleven chapters of the book are on the indepth studies of the theories of time reversal acoustics. The remaining chapters are on the four major applications of time reversal acoustics, together with their experimental setups and case studies: underwater communication, seismic exploration,nondestructive evaluation, and medical ultrasound imaging.. The gauge invariance approach to acoustic fields, proposed by the author in 2007, is confirmed by the successful fabrication of acoustical metamaterials and the applications of time reversal acoustics to superresolution. The book also presents groundbreaking applications of time reversal acoustics to underwater communication technology and the application of metamaterials to time reversal acoustics.

This book primarily focuses on methodologies to enable marine structures to resist high velocity impact loadings. It is based on invited talks presented at the recent India-USA workshop on "Recent Advances in Blast Mitigation Strategies in Civil and Marine Composite Structures" The book comprises content from top researchers from India and the USA and covers various aspects of the topic, including modeling and simulation, design aspects, experimentation and various challenges. These failure modes significantly reduce the structural integrity of the marine structures unless they are designed to resist such harsh loadings. Understanding the mechanics of these structures under harsh loadings is still an open area of research, and the behavior of these structures is not fully understood. The book highlights efforts to reduce the effects of blast loadings on marine composite structures. Intended for researchers/scientists and practicing engineers, the book focuses not only the design and analysis challenges of marine composite structures under such harsh loading conditions, but also provides new design guidelines.

This book addresses flow separation within the context of fluid-structure interaction phenomena. Here, new findings from two research communities focusing on fluids and structures are brought together, emphasizing the importance of a unified multidisciplinary approach. The book covers the theory, experimental findings, numerical simulations, and modeling in fluid dynamics and structural mechanics for both incompressible and compressible separated unsteady flows. There is a focus on the morphing of lifting structures in order to increase their aerodynamic and/or hydrodynamic performances, to control separation and to reduce noise, as well as to inspire the design of novel structures. The different chapters are based on contributions presented at the ERCOFTAC Symposium on Unsteady Separation in Fluid-Structure Interaction held in Mykonos, Greece, 17-21 June, 2013 and include extended discussions and new highlights. The book is intended for students, researchers and practitioners in the broad field of computational fluid dynamics and computational structural mechanics. It aims at supporting them while dealing with practical issues, such as developing control strategies for unsteady separation and applying smart materials and biomimetic approaches for design and control.

This book focuses on the synthesis of lower-mobility parallel manipulators, presenting a group-theory-based method that has the advantage of being geometrically intrinsic. Rotations and translations of a rigid body as well as a combination of the two can be expressed and handled elegantly using the group algebraic structure of the set of rigid-body displacements. The book gathers the authors' research results, which were previously scattered in various journals and conference proceedings, presenting them in a unified form. Using the presented method, it reveals numerous novel architectures of lower-mobility parallel manipulators, which are of interest to those in the robotics community. More importantly, readers can use the method and tool to develop new types of lower-mobility parallel manipulators independently.

The book covers various topics of heat transfer. It explains and analyzes several techniques and modes of heat transfer such as conduction in stationary media, convection in moving media and also by radiation. It is primarily a text book useful for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The book should also interest practicing engineers who wish to refresh their knowledge in the field. The book presents the various topics in a systematic way starting from first principles. The topics are developed to a fairly advanced level towards the end of each chapter. Several worked examples illustrate the engineering applications of the basic modeling tools developed in the text. The exercises at the end of the book are arranged chapter wise and challenge the reader to tackle typical real-life problems in heat transfer. This book will be of potential use for students of mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and metallurgy in most engineering colleges.

This work focuses on the fundamentals of MMCs for engineers and designers. The new edition addresses new issues and developments in the areas of automotive, aerospace, electronics and consumer applications. These include continuous fiber reinforced MMCs for cables in power transmission, high temperature superconducting wires, particulate MMCs in civilian aircraft and automotive applications, and high volume fraction, high thermal conductivity substrates for electronic packaging. The coverage is thorough and cohesive, and emphasizes the synergistic relationships among processing, structure and properties of metal matrix composites.

This volume includes contributions presented at the Fifth IFToMM Symposium on the History of Machines and Mechanisms, held at Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Santiago de Queretaro, QRO, Mexico, in June 2016. It contains work on theories and facts concerning mechanisms and machines from antiquity to current times as viewed in the present day. Topics include modern reviews of past works; people, history, and their works; direct memories of the recent past; historic development theories; the history of the design of machines and mechanisms; developments of mechanical design and automation; the historic development of teaching; the history of schools of engineering and the education of engineers.

"By emphasizing the three key concepts of mechanics of solids, this new edition helps engineers improve their problem-solving skills. They'll discover how these fundamental concepts underlie all of the applications presented, and they'll learn how to identify the equations needed to solve various problems. New discussions are included on literature reviews, focusing on the literature review found in proposals and research articles. Groupware communication tools including blogs, wikis and meeting applications are covered. More information is also presented on transmittal letters and PowerPoint style presentations. And with the addition of detailed example problems, engineers will learn how to organize their solutions."--

The principle aim of the book is to present a self-contained, modern account of similarity and symmetry methods, which are important mathematical tools for both physicists, engineers and applied mathematicians. The idea is to provide a balanced presentation of the mathematical techniques and applications of symmetry methods in mathematics, physics and engineering. That is why it includes recent developments and many examples in finding systematically conservation laws, local and nonlocal symmetries for ordinary and partial differential equations. The role of continuous symmetries in classical and quantum field theories is exposed at a technical level accessible even for non specialists. The importance of symmetries in continuum mechanics and mechanics of materials is highlighted through recent developments, such as the construction of constitutive models for various materials combining Lie symmetries with experimental data. As a whole this book is a unique collection of contributions from experts in the field, including specialists in the mathematical treatment of symmetries, researchers using symmetries from a fundamental, applied or numerical viewpoint. The book is a fascinating overview of symmetry methods aimed for graduate students in physics, mathematics and engineering, as well as researchers either willing to enter in the field or to capture recent developments and applications of symmetry methods in different scientific fields.

This book provides a systematic and thorough overview of the classical bending members based on the theory for thin beams (shear-rigid) according to Euler-Bernoulli, and the theories for thick beams (shear-flexible) according to Timoshenko and Levinson. The understanding of basic, i.e., one-dimensional structural members, is essential in applied mechanics. A systematic and thorough introduction to the theoretical concepts for one-dimensional members keeps the requirements on engineering mathematics quite low, and allows for a simpler transfer to higher-order structural members. The new approach in this textbook is that it treats single-plane bending in the x-y plane as well in the x-z plane equivalently and applies them to the case of unsymmetrical bending. The fundamental understanding of these one-dimensional members allows a simpler understanding of thin and thick plate bending members. Partial differential equations lay the foundation to mathematically describe the mechanical behavior of all classical structural members known in engineering mechanics. Based on the three basic equations of continuum mechanics, i.e., the kinematics relationship, the constitutive law, and the equilibrium equation, these partial differential equations that describe the physical problem can be derived. Nevertheless, the fundamental knowledge from the first years of engineering education, i.e., higher mathematics, physics, materials science, applied mechanics, design, and programming skills, might be required to master this topic.

Due to their high stiffness and strength and their good processing properties short fibre reinforced thermoplastics are well-established construction materials. Up to now, simulation of engineering parts consisting of short fibre reinforced thermoplastics has often been based on macroscopic phenomenological models, but deformations, damage and failure of composite materials strongly depend on their microstructure. The typical modes of failure of short fibre thermoplastics enriched with glass fibres are matrix failure, rupture of fibres and delamination, and pure macroscopic consideration is not sufficient to predict those effects. The typical predictive phenomenological models are complex and only available for very special failures. A quantitative prediction on how failure will change depending on the content and orientation of the fibres is generally not possible, and the direct involvement of the above effects in a numerical simulation requires multi-scale modelling. One the one hand, this makes it possible to take into account the properties of the matrix material and the fibre material, the microstructure of the composite in terms of fibre content, fibre orientation and shape as well as the properties of the interface between fibres and matrix. On the other hand, the multi-scale approach links these local properties to the global behaviour and forms the basis for the dimensioning and design of engineering components. Furthermore, multi-scale numerical simulations are required to allow efficient solution of the models when investigating three-dimensional problems of dimensioning engineering parts. Bringing together mathematical modelling, materials mechanics, numerical methods and experimental engineering, this book provides a unique overview of multi-scale modelling approaches, multi-scale simulations and experimental investigations of short fibre reinforced thermoplastics. The first chapters focus on two principal subjects: the mathematical and mechanical models governing composite properties and damage description. The subsequent chapters present numerical algorithms based on the Finite Element Method and the Boundary Element Method, both of which make explicit use of the composite's microstructure. Further, the results of the numerical simulations are shown and compared to experimental results. Lastly, the book investigates deformation and failure of composite materials experimentally, explaining the applied methods and presenting the results for different volume fractions of fibres. This book is a valuable resource for applied mathematics, theoretical and experimental mechanical engineers as well as engineers in industry dealing with modelling and simulation of short fibre reinforced composites.

This thesis studies the effects of superplasticizers, polyacrylate latexes and asphalt emulsions, which differ in molecular/particle size from nanometers to microns, on the rheological properties of fresh cement pastes (FCPs), as well as the action mechanisms involved. It systematically investigates the rheological properties and microstructure of cement-based materials, and elucidates the adsorption behaviors of polycarboxylate polymers with different functional groups and their effects on cement hydration. Moreover, it reveals how the working mechanism of naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde (NSF) differs from that of polycarboxylate ether-based (PCE) superplasticizers. Lastly, it develops a conceptual microstructure model and two rheological equations. These findings lend theoretical support to the development of new chemical admixtures and new, higher-performance, cement-based composites.

This book highlights the symmetry properties of acoustic fields and describes the gauge invariance approach, which can be used to reveal those properties. Symmetry is the key theoretical framework of metamaterials, as has been demonstrated by the successful fabrication of acoustical metamaterials. The book first provides the necessary theoretical background, which includes the covariant derivative, the vector potential, and invariance in coordinate transformation. This is followed by descriptions of global gauge invariance (isotropy), and of local gauge invariance (anisotropy). Sections on time reversal symmetry, reflection invariance, and invariance of finite amplitude waves round out the coverage.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the First International Conference of IFToMM Italy (IFIT2016), held at the University of Padova, Vicenza, Italy, on December 1-2, 2016. The book contains contributions on the latest advances on Mechanism and Machine Science. The fifty-nine papers deal with such topics as biomechanical engineering, history of mechanism and machine science, linkages and mechanical controls, multi-body dynamics, reliability, robotics and mechatronics, transportation machinery, tribology, and vibrations.

The fuel consumption of a modern combustion engine is one of the most important purchase criteria in contemporary society. Increasing oil prices and exhaust emissions taxes force the automotive industry to continuously improve the vehicle engines. The fuel consumption is closely related to the frictional losses of an engine. New material pairings or constructive modifications of the piston group can reduce such losses. Another innovative concept to lower the frictional forces is the micro-structuring of thermo-mechanically highly stressed surfaces. Within an interdisciplinary research group sponsored by the German Research Foundation, scientists at the Leibniz Universitat Hannover and Universitat Kassel have been working together to investigate this research topic. This final report presents their findings and offers scope for further discussion.

This book presents selected papers presented at the 8th International Conference "Design, Modeling and Experiments of Advanced Structures and Systems" (DeMEASS VIII, held in Moscow, Russia in May 2017) and reflects the modern state of sciences in this field. The contributions contain topics like Piezoelectric, Ferroelectric, Ferroelastic and Magnetostrictive Materials, Shape Memory Alloys and Active Polymers, Functionally Graded Materials, Multi-Functional Smart Materials and Structures, Coupled Multi-Field Problems, Design and Modeling of Sensors and Actuators, Adaptive Structures.