This book discusses the relationship between the philosophy of science and philosophy of engineering, and demonstrates how philosophers of engineering design as well as design researchers can benefit from the conceptual toolkit that the philosophy of science has to offer. In this regard, it employs conceptual tools from the philosophical literature on scientific explanation to address key issues in engineering design and philosophy of engineering design. Specifically, the book focuses on assessing the explanatory value of function ascriptions used in engineering design and philosophy of technical functions; on elaborating the structure of explanation in engineering design; on assessing the role and value of design representations in engineering design and philosophy thereof; and on elaborating means for the testing of design methods. Presenting a novel and effective approach to tackling key issues in the field, philosophers of engineering and design alike will greatly benefit from this book.

This present book describes the different construction systems and structural materials and elements within the main buildings typologies, and it analyses the particularities of each of them, including, at the end, general aspects concerning laboratory and in-situ testing, numerical modeling, vulnerability assessment and construction maintenance.

Thermomechanics and Infra-Red Imaging represents one of eight volumes of technical papers presented at the Society for Experimental Mechanics Annual Conference on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, held at Uncasville, Connecticut, June 13-16, 2011. The full set of proceedings also includes volumes on Dynamic Behavior of Materials, Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials, Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials and Processes in Conventional and Multifunctional Materials, MEMS and Nanotechnology; Optical Measurements, Modeling and, Metrology; Experimental and Applied Mechanics, and Engineering Applications of Residual Stress.

This book is comprised of two parts, both of which explore modular systems: Pipe-Z (PZ) and Truss-Z (TZ), respectively. It presents several methods of creating PZ and TZ structures subjected to discrete optimization. The algorithms presented employ graph-theoretic and heuristic methods. The underlying idea of both systems is to create free-form structures using the minimal number of types of modular elements. PZ is more conceptual, as it forms single-branch mathematical knots with a single type of module. Conversely, TZ is a skeletal system for creating free-form pedestrian ramps and ramp networks among any number of terminals in space. In physical space, TZ uses two types of modules that are mirror reflections of each other. The optimization criteria discussed include: the minimal number of units, maximal adherence to the given guide paths, etc.

This book examines the theoretical foundations underpinning the field of strength of materials/theory of elasticity, beginning from the origins of the modern theory of elasticity. While the focus is on the advances made within Italy during the nineteenth century, these achievements are framed within the overall European context. The vital contributions of Italian mathematicians, mathematical physicists and engineers in respect of the theory of elasticity, continuum mechanics, structural mechanics, the principle of least work and graphical methods in engineering are carefully explained and discussed. The book represents a work of historical research that primarily comprises original contributions and summaries of work published in journals. It is directed at those graduates in engineering, but also in architecture, who wish to achieve a more global and critical view of the discipline and will also be invaluable for all scholars of the history of mechanics.

Ultrasonic guided waves in solid media have become a critically important subject in nondestructive testing and structural health monitoring, as new faster, more sensitive, and more economical ways of looking at materials and structures have become possible. This book will lead to fresh creative ideas for use in new inspection procedures. Although the mathematics is sometimes sophisticated, the book can also be read by managers without detailed understanding of the concepts as it can be read from a 'black box' point of view. Overall, the material presented on wave mechanics - in particular, guided wave mechanics - establishes a framework for the creative data collection and signal processing needed to solve many problems using ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring. The book can be used as a reference in ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation by professionals and as a textbook for seniors and graduate students. This work extends the coverage of Rose's earlier book Ultrasonic Waves in Solid Media.

This book covers solid mechanics for non-linear elastic and elastoplastic materials, describing the behaviour of ductile material subject to extreme mechanical loading and its eventual failure. The book highlights constitutive features to describe the behaviour of frictional materials such as geological media. On the basis of this theory, including large strain and inelastic behaviours, bifurcation and instability are developed with a special focus on the modelling of the emergence of local instabilities such as shear band formation and flutter of a continuum. The former is regarded as a precursor of fracture, while the latter is typical of granular materials. The treatment is complemented with qualitative experiments, illustrations from everyday life and simple examples taken from structural mechanics.

This book presents new results in the knowledge and simulations for composite nano-materials. It includes selected, extended papers presented in the thematic ECCOMAS conference on Composites with Micro- and Nano-Structure (CMNS) - Computational Modelling and Experiments. It contains atomistic and continuum numerical methods and experimental validation for composite materials reinforced with particles or fibres, porous materials, homogenization and other important topics.

There have been many excellent books written on the subject of plastic deformation in solids, but rarely can one find a textbook on this subject. "Plasticity Modeling & Computation" is a textbook written specifically for students who want to learn the theoretical, mathematical, and computational aspects of inelastic deformation in solids. It adopts a simple narrative style that is not mathematically overbearing, and has been written to emulate a professor giving a lecture on this subject inside a classroom. Each section is written to provide a balance between the relevant equations and the explanations behind them. Where relevant, sections end with one or more exercises designed to reinforce the understanding of the "lecture." Color figures enhance the presentation and make the book very pleasant to read. For professors planning to use this textbook for their classes, the contents are sufficient for Parts A and B that can be taught in sequence over a period of two semesters or quarters.

Finite Element, Boundary Element, Finite Volume, and Finite Difference Analysis are all commonly used in nearly all engineering disciplines to simplify complex problems of geometry and change. But they all tend to oversimplify. The Cell Method is a more recent computational approach developed initially for problems in solid mechanics and electro-magnetic field analysis. It is a more algebraic approach, and it offers a more accurate representation of geometric and topological features. This will be perhaps the first book-length work in the world that explicates the Cell Method and that shows how useful it can be for practical problem solving, especially in problems in solid mechanics.

The book opens with a derivation of kinematically nonlinear 3-D continuum mechanics for solids. Then the principle of virtual work is utilized to derive the simpler, kinematically linear 3-D theory and to provide the foundation for developing consistent theories of kinematic nonlinearity and linearity for specialized continua, such as beams and plates, and finite element methods for these structures. A formulation in terms of the versatile Budiansky-Hutchinson notation is used as basis for the theories for these structures and structural elements, as well as for an in-depth treatment of structural instability.

This book contains the elements of the theory and the problems of Elasticity and Thermal Stresses with full solutions. The emphasis is placed on problems and solutions and the book consists of four parts: one part is on The Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, two parts are on Thermal Stresses and one part is on Numerical Methods. The book is addressed to higher level undergraduate students, graduate students and engineers and it is an indispensable companion to all who study any of the books published earlier by the authors. This book links the three previously published books by the authors into one comprehensive entity.

The book provides suitable methods for the simulations of boundary value problems of geotechnical installation processes with reliable prediction for the deformation behavior of structures in static or dynamic interaction with the soil. It summarizes the basic research of a research group from scientists dealing with constitutive relations of soils and their implementations as well as contact element formulations in FE-codes. Numerical and physical experiments are presented providing benchmarks for future developments in this field. Boundary value problems have been formulated and solved with the developed tools in order to show the effectivity of the methods. Parametric studies of geotechnical installation processes in order to identify the governing parameters for the optimization of the process are given in such a way that the findings can be recommended to practice for further use. For many design engineers in practice the assessment of the serviceability of nearby structures due to geotechnical installation processes is a very challenging task. Some hints about possible effects and their consideration are given in this book which may provide a help for such estimations which are still not possible to be given in a satisfactory manner.

This book examines material composites used in connection with brake friction, their design and safety. To aid in understanding, the essentials of friction are explained. This second edition was extended to include friction material composites without copper, as they offer an environmentally friendlier option. The second edition is intended to support beginners by offering insights into the essentials of friction material composites, helping them to develop a broader understanding of brake friction materials. Friction materials find wide-ranging applications in household and industrial appliances, brake pads for automotive applications, rail brake friction pads and composition brake blocks. This second edition is an introductory volume to a set of related books, and is based on the author’s experience and expertise with various material manufacturers, brake manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, researchers and testing labs around the world with which the author has been associated for the past 28 years.

With China becoming a major force in steel research and development, this book highlights the work of a group from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by the first four authors. This group has the ideal knowledge base for writing this updated book on heat-resistant steels. The fifth author, Sha, based in the UK, has been collaborating with the Chinese group since 2009 and is the lead or sole author of four research books, all published in English. The last book, “Steels: from materials science to structural engineering,� was published by Springer in 2013. Within two months of its publication, researchers at the University of Science and Technology Liaoning had requested translation of the book into Chinese. Springer obliged, and the Chinese version was published by the Metallurgical Industry Press, Beijing, in August 2014. Sha has organized and completed the writing of the proposed book, though the main research was done in China.

Deformable solids have a particularly complex character; mathematical modeling is not always simple and often leads to inextricable difficulties of computation. One of the simplest mathematical models and, at the same time, the most used model, is that of the elastic body - especially the linear one. But, notwithstanding its simplicity, even this model of a real body may lead to great difficulties of computation. The practical importance of a work about the theory of elasticity, which is also an introduction to the mechanics of deformable solids, consists of the use of scientific methods of computation in a domain in which simplified methods are still used. This treatise takes into account the consideration made above, with special attention to the theoretical study of the state of strain and stress of a deformable solid. The book draws on the known specialized literature, as well as the original results of the author and his 50+ years experience as Professor of Mechanics and Elasticity at the University of Bucharest. The construction of mathematical models is made by treating geometry and kinematics of deformation, mechanics of stresses and constitutive laws. Elastic, plastic and viscous properties are thus put in evidence and the corresponding theories are developed. Space problems are treated and various particular cases are taken into consideration. New solutions for boundary value problems of finite and infinite domains are given and a general theory of concentrated loads is built. Anisotropic and non-homogeneous bodies are studied as well. Cosserat type bodies are also modeled. The connection with thermal and viscous phenomena will be considered too. Audience: researchers in applied mathematics, mechanical and civil engineering.

This volume presents results of the International Meshing Roundtable conference organized by Sandia National Laboratories held in September 2005. The conference is held annually and since its inception eleven years ago has become widely recognized as a major forum for the exchange of ideas in this field. The papers of this proceedings are devoted to mesh generation and adaptation which has applications to finite element simulation as well as to computational geometry and computer graphics. This book introduces theoretical and novel ideas with practical potential as well as technical applications from industrial researchers, bringing together renowned specialists from engineering, computer science and mathematics.

Although several books and conference proceedings have already appeared dealing with either the mathematical aspects or applications of homogenization theory, there seems to be no comprehensive volume dealing with both aspects. The present volume is meant to fill this gap, at least partially, and deals with recent developments in nonlinear homogenization emphasizing applications of current interest. It contains thirteen key lectures presented at the NATO Advanced Workshop on Nonlinear Homogenization and Its Applications to Composites, Polycrystals and Smart Materials. The list of thirty one contributed papers is also appended. The key lectures cover both fundamental, mathematical aspects of homogenization, including nonconvex and stochastic problems, as well as several applications in micromechanics, thin films, smart materials, and structural and topology optimization. One lecture deals with a topic important for nanomaterials: the passage from discrete to continuum problems by using nonlinear homogenization methods. Some papers reveal the role of parameterized or Young measures in description of microstructures and in optimal design. Other papers deal with recently developed methods - both analytical and computational - for estimating the effective behavior and field fluctuations in composites and polycrystals with nonlinear constitutive behavior. All in all, the volume offers a cross-section of current activity in nonlinear homogenization including a broad range of physical and engineering applications. The careful reader will be able to identify challenging open problems in this still evolving field. For instance, there is the need to improve bounding techniques for nonconvex problems, as well as for solving geometrically nonlinear optimum shape-design problems, using relaxation and homogenization methods.

This book exposes a number of mathematical models for fracture of growing difficulty. All models are treated in a unified way, based on incremental energy minimization. They differ from each other by the assumptions made on the inelastic part of the total energy, here called the "cohesive energy". Each model describes a specific aspect of material response, and particular care is devoted to underline the correspondence of each model to the experiments. The content of the book is a re-elaboration of the lectures delivered at the First Sperlonga Summer School on Mechanics and Engineering Sciences in September 2011. In the year and a half elapsed after the course, the material has been revised and enriched with new and partially unpublished results. Significant additions have been introduced in the occasion of the course "The variational approach to fracture and other inelastic phenomena", delivered at SISSA, Trieste, in March 2013. The Notes reflect a research line carried on by the writer over the years, addressed to a comprehensive description of the many aspects of the phenomenon of fracture, and to its relations with other phenomena, such as the formation of microstructure and the changes in the material's strength induced by plasticity and damage. Reprinted from the Journal of Elasticity, volume 112, issue 1, 2013.

This book introduces field theory as required in solid and fluid mechanics as well as in electromagnetism. It includes the necessary applied mathematical framework of tensor algebra and tensor calculus, using an inductive approach particularly suited to beginners. It is geared toward undergraduate classes in continuum theory for engineers in general, and more specifically to courses in continuum mechanics. Students will gain a sound basic understanding of the subject as well as the ability to solve engineering problems by applying the general laws of nature in terms of the balances for mass, momentum, and energy in combination with material-specific relations in terms of constitutive equations, thus learning how to use the theory in practice for themselves. This is facilitated by numerous examples and problems provided throughout the text.

An original mechanical formulation to treat nonlinear orthotropic behavior of composite materials is presented in this book. It also examines different formulations that allow us to evaluate the behavior of composite materials through the composition of its components, obtaining a new composite material. Also two multiple scale homogenization methods are given, one based on the analytical study of the cells (Ad-hoc homogenization) and other one, more general based on the finite element procedure applied on the macro scale (upper-scale) and in the micro scale (sub-scale). A very general formulation to simulate the mechanical behavior for traditional composite structures (plywood, reinforced concrete, masonry, etc.), as well as the new composite materials reinforced with long and short fibers, nanotubes, etc., are also shown in this work. Typical phenomena occurring in composite materials are also described in this work, including fiber-matrix debonding, local buckling of fibers and its coupling with the overall buckling of the structure. Finally, several numerical examples that evaluates the qualities and capabilities of the general model formulated are offered in this book. This book is intended for graduate engineering students who want to expand their knowledge of composite structures behavior.

Differential Geometry offers a concise introduction to some basic notions of modern differential geometry and their applications to solid mechanics and physics. Concepts such as manifolds, groups, fibre bundles and groupoids are first introduced within a purely topological framework. They are shown to be relevant to the description of space-time, configuration spaces of mechanical systems, symmetries in general, microstructure and local and distant symmetries of the constitutive response of continuous media. Once these ideas have been grasped at the topological level, the differential structure needed for the description of physical fields is introduced in terms of differentiable manifolds and principal frame bundles. These mathematical concepts are then illustrated with examples from continuum kinematics, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, Cauchy fluxes and dislocation theory. This book will be useful for researchers and graduate students in science and engineering.

This book focuses on the development of a new simulation paradigm allowing for the solution of models that up to now have never been resolved and which result in spectacular CPU time savings (in the order of millions) that, combined with supercomputing, could revolutionize future ICT (information and communication technologies) at the heart of science and technology. The authors have recently proposed a new paradigm for simulation-based engineering sciences called Proper Generalized Decomposition, PGD, which has proved a tremendous potential in many aspects of forming process simulation. In this book a review of the basics of the technique is made, together with different examples of application.

This book presents a unified view of the physicochemical origin of the mechanical behaviour of gases, simple solids and liquids, suspensions, polymers, emulsions, foams, and granular materials, along with techniques for measuring that behaviour. Besides molecular materials in all their classical gaseous, solid, or liquid states, we deal daily with a number of other materials made of coarser elements such as polymers, cells, grains, bubbles, and droplets. They take on the familiar appearance of paints, inks, cements, muds, foams, emulsions, toothpastes, gels, etc. These materials exhibit complex structures and sometimes amazing types of mechanical behaviour, often intermediate between those of a simple liquid and a simple solid. From a practical standpoint, the aim is to analyze their internal evolution (aging, restructuring, phase separation, etc.), then to formulate these materials in accordance with the desired properties, and thereby devise new materials. With that aim in mind, it is crucial to understand how these materials deform or flow, depending on the interactions and structures formed by the elements they contain. This book is intended for students as well as more advanced researchers in mechanics, physics, chemistry, and biology. The mathematical formalism is reduced in order to focus on physical explanations.

Dynamic Behavior of Materials, Volume 1: Proceedings of the 2013 Annual Conference on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, the first volume of eight from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Experimental Mechanics, including papers on: General Dynamic Material Properties Novel Dynamic Testing Techniques Dynamic Fracture and Failure Novel Testing Techniques Dynamic Behavior of Geo-materials Dynamic Behavior of Biological and Biomimetic Materials Dynamic Behavior of Composites and Multifunctional Materials Dynamic Behavior of Low-Impedance materials Multi-scale Modeling of Dynamic Behavior of Materials Quantitative Visualization of Dynamic Behavior of Materials Shock/Blast Loading of Materials