Fundamentals of the Mechanics of Solids

<p>This distinctive textbook aims to introduce readers to the basic structures of the mechanics of deformable bodies, with a special emphasis on the description of the elastic behavior of simple materials and structures composed by elastic beams. The authors take a deductive rather than inductive approach and start from a few first, foundational principles. A wide selection of exercises, many with hints and solutions, are provided throughout and organized in a way that will allow readers to form a link between abstract mathematical concepts and real-world applications.</p><p>The text begins with the definition of bodies and deformations, keeping the kinematics of rigid bodies as a special case; the authors also distinguish between material and spatial metrics, defining each one in the pertinent space. Subsequent chapters cover observers and classes of possible changes; forces, torques, and related balances, which are derived from the invariance under classical changes in observers of the power of the external actions over a body, rather than postulated a priori; constitutive structures; variational principles in linear elasticity; the de Saint-Venant problem; yield criteria and a discussion of their role in the representation of material behavior; and an overview of some bifurcation phenomena, focusing on the Euler rod. An appendix on tensor algebra and tensor calculus is included for readers who need a brief refresher on these topics.</p><p><i>Fundamentals of the Mechanics of Solids</i> is primarily intended for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in various fields of engineering and applied mathematics. Prerequisites include basic courses in calculus, mathematical analysis, and classical mechanics.<br></p>