Continuum mechanics

Continuum mechanics is a branch of mechanics that

deals with the analysis of the kinematics and the mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuous mass
rather than as discrete particles. The French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy was the rst to formulate
such models in the 19th century. Research in the area
continues today.

ically, the continuum hypothesis/assumption hinges on

the concepts of a representative volume element (RVE)
(sometimes called representative elementary volume)
and separation of scales based on the HillMandel condition. This condition provides a link between an experimentalists and a theoreticians viewpoint on constitutive
equations (linear and nonlinear elastic/inelastic or coupled elds) as well as a way of spatial and statistical averaging of the microstructure.[1]

When the separation of scales does not hold, or when one

wants to establish a continuum of a ner resolution than
that of the RVE size, one employs a statistical volume element (SVE), which, in turn, leads to random continuum
elds. The latter then provide a micromechanics basis for
stochastic nite elements (SFE). The levels of SVE and
RVE link continuum mechanics to statistical mechanics.
The RVE may be assessed only in a limited way via experimental testing: when the constitutive response becomes
spatially homogeneous.

Explanation

Modeling an object as a continuum assumes that the substance of the object completely lls the space it occupies.
Modeling objects in this way ignores the fact that matter is made of atoms, and so is not continuous; however,
on length scales much greater than that of inter-atomic
distances, such models are highly accurate. Fundamental physical laws such as the conservation of mass, the
conservation of momentum, and the conservation of energy may be applied to such models to derive dierential Specically for uids, the Knudsen number is used to asequations describing the behavior of such objects, and sess to what extent the approximation of continuity can
some information about the particular material studied is be made.
added through constitutive relations.

Continuum mechanics deals with physical properties of

solids and uids which are independent of any particu- 3 Car trac is an introductory exlar coordinate system in which they are observed. These
ample
physical properties are then represented by tensors, which
are mathematical objects that have the required property
of being independent of coordinate system. These ten- Consider car trac on a highway---with just one lane
sors can be expressed in coordinate systems for compu- for simplicity. Somewhat surprisingly, and in a tribute to its eectiveness, continuum mechanics eectively
tational convenience.
models the movement of cars via a partial dierential
equation (PDE) for the density of cars. The familiarity of this situation empowers us to understand a little of
2 Concept of a continuum
the continuum-discrete dichotomy underlying continuum
modelling in general.
Materials, such as solids, liquids and gases, are composed To start modelling dene that: x measure distance (in km)
of molecules separated by empty space. On a micro- along the highway; t is time (in minutes); (x, t) is the
scopic scale, materials have cracks and discontinuities. density of cars on the highway (in cars/km in the lane);
However, certain physical phenomena can be modeled and u(x, t) is the ow velocity (average velocity) of those
assuming the materials exist as a continuum, meaning the cars 'at' position x .
matter in the body is continuously distributed and lls the
entire region of space it occupies. A continuum is a body
that can be continually sub-divided into innitesimal ele- 3.1 Conservation derives a PDE
ments with properties being those of the bulk material.
Cars do not appear and disappear. Consider any group
of cars: from the particular car at the back of the group
located at x = a(t) to the particular car at the front located at x = b(t) . The total number of cars in this group

The validity of the continuum assumption may be veried by a theoretical analysis, in which either some clear
periodicity is identied or statistical homogeneity and
ergodicity of the microstructure exists. More specif1

5 FORMULATION OF MODELS

b(t)
N = a(t) (x, t) dx . Since cars are conserved (if there
is overtaking, then the `car at the front \ back' may become a dierent car) dN /dt = 0 . But via the fundamental theorem of calculus

dN
dt

=
=
=
=

d
dtb
ab
ab
a

b(t)

5 Formulation of models

(x, t) dx

a(t)

db
da
t dx + (b, t) dt (a, t) dt

t dx + (b, t)u(b, t) (a, t)u(a, t)

t + x (u) dx

This integral being zero holds for all groups, that is, for
all intervals [a, b] . The only way an integral can be zero
for all intervals is if the integrand is zero for all x . Consequently, conservation derives the rst order nonlinear
conservation PDE

+
(u) = 0
t
x

Figure 1. Conguration of a continuum body

Continuum mechanics models begin by assigning a region in three-dimensional Euclidean space to the matefor all positions on the highway.
rial body B being modeled. The points within this region
This conservation PDE applies not only to car trac but
are called particles or material points. Dierent congalso to uids, solids, crowds, animals, plants, bushres,
urations or states of the body correspond to dierent renancial traders, and so on.
gions in Euclidean space. The region corresponding to
the bodys conguration at time t is labeled t (B) .

3.2

Observation closes the problem

This PDE is one equation with two unknowns, so we need

another equation to form a well posed problem. Such an
extra equation is typically needed in continuum mechanics and typically comes from experiments. For car trac
it is well established that cars typically travel at a speed
depending upon density, u = V () for some experimentally determined function V that is a decreasing function
of density. For example, experiments in the Lincoln Tunnel, New York, found that a good t (except at low density) is obtained by u = V () = 27.5 ln(142/) (km/hr
for density in cars/km).[2]

A particular particle within the body in a particular

conguration is characterized by a position vector

x=

xi ei ,

i=1

where ei are the coordinate vectors in some frame of reference chosen for the problem (See gure 1). This vector
can be expressed as a function of the particle position X
in some reference conguration, for example the conguration at the initial time, so that

Thus the basic continuum model for car trac is the PDE
x = t (X).

+
[V ()] = 0
t
x
for the car density (x, t) on the highway.

Major areas of continuum mechanics

An additional area of continuum mechanics comprises

elastomeric foams, which exhibit a curious hyperbolic
stress-strain relationship. The elastomer is a true continuum, but a homogeneous distribution of voids gives it
unusual properties.[3]

This function needs to have various properties so that the

model makes physical sense. t () needs to be:
continuous in time, so that the body changes in a way
which is realistic,
globally invertible at all times, so that the body cannot intersect itself,
orientation-preserving, as transformations which
produce mirror reections are not possible in nature.
For the mathematical formulation of the model, t () is
also assumed to be twice continuously dierentiable, so
that dierential equations describing the motion may be
formulated.

Forces in a continuum

See also: Stress (mechanics) and Cauchy stress tensor

Continuum mechanics deals with deformable bodies, as
opposed to rigid bodies. A solid is a deformable body
that possesses shear strength, sc. a solid can support shear
forces (forces parallel to the material surface on which
they act). Fluids, on the other hand, do not sustain shear
forces. For the study of the mechanical behavior of solids
and uids these are assumed to be continuous bodies,
which means that the matter lls the entire region of space
it occupies, despite the fact that matter is made of atoms,
has voids, and is discrete. Therefore, when continuum
mechanics refers to a point or particle in a continuous
body it does not describe a point in the interatomic space
or an atomic particle, rather an idealized part of the body
occupying that point.

experiences a contact force dFC arising from the contact

between both portions of the body on each side of S , and
it is given by

dFC = T(n) dS
where T(n) is the surface traction,[7] also called stress vector,[8] traction,[9] or traction vector.[10] The stress vector
is a frame-indierent vector (see Euler-Cauchys stress
principle).
The total contact force on the particular internal surface
S is then expressed as the sum (surface integral) of the
contact forces on all dierential surfaces dS :

T(n) dS

FC =
S

In continuum mechanics a body is considered stressfree if the only forces present are those inter-atomic
forces (ionic, metallic, and van der Waals forces) required to hold the body together and to keep its shape
in the absence of all external inuences, including gravitational attraction.[10][11] Stresses generated during manufacture of the body to a specic conguration are also
excluded when considering stresses in a body. Therefore,
the stresses considered in continuum mechanics are only
F = FB + FC
those produced by deformation of the body, sc. only relSurface forces or contact forces, expressed as force per ative changes in stress are considered, not the absolute
unit area, can act either on the bounding surface of the values of stress.
body, as a result of mechanical contact with other bod- Body forces are forces originating from sources outside of
ies, or on imaginary internal surfaces that bound portions the body[12] that act on the volume (or mass) of the body.
of the body, as a result of the mechanical interaction be- Saying that body forces are due to outside sources implies
tween the parts of the body to either side of the surface that the interaction between dierent parts of the body
(Euler-Cauchys stress principle). When a body is acted (internal forces) are manifested through the contact forces
upon by external contact forces, internal contact forces alone.[7] These forces arise from the presence of the body
are then transmitted from point to point inside the body in force elds, e.g. gravitational eld (gravitational forces)
to balance their action, according to Newtons second or electromagnetic eld (electromagnetic forces), or from
law of motion of conservation of linear momentum and inertial forces when bodies are in motion. As the mass
angular momentum (for continuous bodies these laws are of a continuous body is assumed to be continuously discalled the Eulers equations of motion). The internal con- tributed, any force originating from the mass is also contact forces are related to the bodys deformation through tinuously distributed. Thus, body forces are specied by
constitutive equations. The internal contact forces may vector elds which are assumed to be continuous over the
be mathematically described by how they relate to the entire volume of the body,[13] i.e. acting on every point
motion of the body, independent of the bodys material in it. Body forces are represented by a body force density
makeup.[5]
b(x, t) (per unit of mass), which is a frame-indierent
The distribution of internal contact forces throughout the vector eld.
Following the classical dynamics of Newton and Euler,
the motion of a material body is produced by the action of
externally applied forces which are assumed to be of two
kinds: surface forces FC and body forces FB .[4] Thus,
the total force F applied to a body or to a portion of the
body can be expressed as:

volume of the body is assumed to be continuous. Therefore, there exists a contact force density or Cauchy traction eld [4] T(n, x, t) that represents this distribution in
a particular conguration of the body at a given time t .
It is not a vector eld because it depends not only on the
position x of a particular material point, but also on the
local orientation of the surface element as dened by its
normal vector n .[6]

In the case of gravitational forces, the intensity of the

force depends on, or is proportional to, the mass density (x, t) of the material, and it is specied in terms
of force per unit mass ( bi ) or per unit volume ( pi ).
These two specications are related through the material
density by the equation bi = pi . Similarly, the intensity of electromagnetic forces depends upon the strength
(electric charge) of the electromagnetic eld.

Any dierential area dS with normal vector n of a given The total body force applied to a continuous body is exinternal surface area S , bounding a portion of the body, pressed as

7 KINEMATICS: DEFORMATION AND MOTION

FB =

b dm =

b dV
V

Body forces and contact forces acting on the body lead

to corresponding moments of force (torques) relative to a
given point. Thus, the total applied torque M about the
origin is given by

M = MB + MC
In certain situations, not commonly considered in the
analysis of the mechanical behavior of materials, it becomes necessary to include two other types of forces:
these are body moments and couple stresses[14][15] (surface
couples,[12] contact torques[13] ). Body moments, or body
couples, are moments per unit volume or per unit mass
applied to the volume of the body. Couple stresses are
moments per unit area applied on a surface. Both are important in the analysis of stress for a polarized dielectric
solid under the action of an electric eld, materials where
the molecular structure is taken into consideration (e.g.
bones), solids under the action of an external magnetic
eld, and the dislocation theory of metals.[8][9][12]
Materials that exhibit body couples and couple stresses in
addition to moments produced exclusively by forces are
called polar materials.[9][13] Non-polar materials are then
those materials with only moments of forces. In the classical branches of continuum mechanics the development
of the theory of stresses is based on non-polar materials.

Figure 2. Motion of a continuum body.

occupy dierent congurations at dierent times so that

a particle occupies a series of points in space which describe a pathline.
There is continuity during deformation or motion of a
continuum body in the sense that:
The material points forming a closed curve at any
instant will always form a closed curve at any subsequent time.
The material points forming a closed surface at any
instant will always form a closed surface at any subsequent time and the matter within the closed surface will always remain within.

Thus, the sum of all applied forces and torques (with re- It is convenient to identify a reference conguration or
spect to the origin of the coordinate system) in the body initial condition which all subsequent congurations are
can be given by
referenced from. The reference conguration need not be
one that the body will ever occupy. Often, the congura

tion at t = 0 is considered the reference conguration,

0 (B) . The components Xi of the position vector X of
F=
a dm =
T dS +
b dV
V
S
V
a particle, taken with respect to the reference congura

tion, are called the material or reference coordinates.

M=
r T dS +
r b dV
When analyzing the deformation or motion of solids, or
S
V
the ow of uids, it is necessary to describe the sequence
or evolution of congurations throughout time. One de7 Kinematics: deformation and scription for motion is made in terms of the material or
referential coordinates, called material description or Lamotion
grangian description.
A change in the conguration of a continuum body results in a displacement. The displacement of a body
has two components: a rigid-body displacement and a
deformation. A rigid-body displacement consists of a
simultaneous translation and rotation of the body without changing its shape or size. Deformation implies the
change in shape and/or size of the body from an initial
or undeformed conguration 0 (B) to a current or deformed conguration t (B) (Figure 2).

7.1 Lagrangian description

In the Lagrangian description the position and physical

properties of the particles are described in terms of the
material or referential coordinates and time. In this case
the reference conguration is the conguration at
t = 0 . An observer standing in the referential frame of
reference observes the changes in the position and physiThe motion of a continuum body is a continuous time se- cal properties as the material body moves in space as time
quence of displacements. Thus, the material body will progresses. The results obtained are independent of the

7.2

Eulerian description

choice of initial time and reference conguration, 0 (B)

. This description is normally used in solid mechanics.

the material points. All physical quantities characterizing

the continuum are described this way. In this sense, the
In the Lagrangian description, the motion of a continuum function () and Pij... () are single-valued and continubody is expressed by the mapping function () (Figure ous, with continuous derivatives with respect to space and
time to whatever order is required, usually to the second
2),
or third.
x = (X, t)

7.2 Eulerian description

which is a mapping of the initial conguration 0 (B) onto

the current conguration t (B) , giving a geometrical
correspondence between them, i.e. giving the position
vector x = xi ei that a particle X , with a position
vector X in the undeformed or reference conguration
0 (B) , will occupy in the current or deformed conguration t (B) at time t . The components xi are called
the spatial coordinates.

Continuity allows for the inverse of () to trace backwards where the particle currently located at x was located in the initial or referenced conguration 0 (B) . In
this case the description of motion is made in terms of
the spatial coordinates, in which case is called the spatial description or Eulerian description, i.e. the current
conguration is taken as the reference conguration.

The Eulerian description, introduced by d'Alembert, focuses on the current conguration t (B) , giving attention
to what is occurring at a xed point in space as time progresses, instead of giving attention to individual particles
as they move through space and time. This approach is
conveniently applied in the study of uid ow where the
The material derivative of any property Pij... of a con- kinematic property of greatest interest is the rate at which
tinuum, which may be a scalar, vector, or tensor, is the change is taking place rather than the shape of the body
[16]
time rate of change of that property for a specic group of uid at a reference time.
of particles of the moving continuum body. The mate- Mathematically, the motion of a continuum using the Eurial derivative is also known as the substantial derivative, lerian description is expressed by the mapping function
or comoving derivative, or convective derivative. It can be
thought as the rate at which the property changes when
measured by an observer traveling with that group of par- X = 1 (x, t)
ticles.
which provides a tracing of the particle which now occuIn the Lagrangian description, the material derivative of
pies the position x in the current conguration t (B) to
Pij... is simply the partial derivative with respect to time,
its original position X in the initial conguration 0 (B) .
and the position vector X is held constant as it does not
A necessary and sucient condition for this inverse funcchange with time. Thus, we have
tion to exist is that the determinant of the Jacobian Matrix, often referred to simply as the Jacobian, should be
dierent from zero. Thus,
d

[Pij... (X, t)] = [Pij... (X, t)]

dt
t

 

 i   xi 
The instantaneous position x is a property of a particle,

=

J
=
 XJ   XJ  = 0
and its material derivative is the instantaneous ow velocity v of the particle. Therefore, the ow velocity eld of
In the Eulerian description, the physical properties Pij...
the continuum is given by
are expressed as
Physical and kinematic properties Pij... , i.e. thermodynamic properties and ow velocity, which describe or
characterize features of the material body, are expressed
as continuous functions of position and time, i.e. Pij... =
Pij... (X, t) .

v = x =

dx
(X, t)
=
dt
t

Similarly, the acceleration eld is given by

=
a = v = x

2 (X, t)
d2 x
=
dt2
t2

Continuity in the Lagrangian description is expressed by

the spatial and temporal continuity of the mapping from
the reference conguration to the current conguration of

Pij... = Pij... (X, t) = Pij... [1 (x, t), t] = pij... (x, t)

where the functional form of Pij... in the Lagrangian description is not the same as the form of pij... in the Eulerian description.
The material derivative of pij... (x, t) , using the chain
rule, is then

dxk
d
[pij... (x, t)] = [pij... (x, t)]+
[pij... (x, t)]
dt
t
xk
dt

The rst term on the right-hand side of this equation gives

the local rate of change of the property pij... (x, t) occurring at position x . The second term of the right-hand side
is the convective rate of change and expresses the contribution of the particle changing position in space (motion).

GOVERNING EQUATIONS

It is common to superimpose the coordinate systems for

the undeformed and deformed congurations, which results in b = 0 , and the direction cosines become
Kronecker deltas, i.e.

Continuity in the Eulerian description is expressed by the

spatial and temporal continuity and continuous dieren- EJ ei = Ji = iJ
tiability of the ow velocity eld. All physical quantities
Thus, we have
are dened this way at each instant of time, in the current
conguration, as a function of the vector position x .
u(X, t) = x(X, t) X

7.3

Displacement eld

The vector joining the positions of a particle P in the

undeformed conguration and deformed conguration is
called the displacement vector u(X, t) = ui ei , in the
Lagrangian description, or U(x, t) = UJ EJ , in the Eulerian description.
A displacement eld is a vector eld of all displacement
vectors for all particles in the body, which relates the deformed conguration with the undeformed conguration.
It is convenient to do the analysis of deformation or motion of a continuum body in terms of the displacement
eld, In general, the displacement eld is expressed in
terms of the material coordinates as

or

ui = xi iJ XJ

or in terms of the spatial coordinates as

U(x, t) = x X(x, t)

or

UJ = Ji xi XJ

8 Governing equations

Continuum mechanics deals with the behavior of materials that can be approximated as continuous for certain
length and time scales. The equations that govern the
mechanics of such materials include the balance laws for
mass, momentum, and energy. Kinematic relations and
constitutive equations are needed to complete the system of governing equations. Physical restrictions on the
form of the constitutive relations can be applied by reu(X, t) = b+x(X, t)X
or
ui = iJ bJ +xi iJquiring
XJ
that the second law of thermodynamics be satised under all conditions. In the continuum mechanics
or in terms of the spatial coordinates as
of solids, the second law of thermodynamics is satised
if the ClausiusDuhem form of the entropy inequality is
satised.
U(x, t) = b+xX(x, t)
or
UJ = bJ +Ji xi XJThe balance laws express the idea that the rate of change
of a quantity (mass, momentum, energy) in a volume
where Ji are the direction cosines between the material must arise from three causes:
and spatial coordinate systems with unit vectors EJ and
ei , respectively. Thus
1. the physical quantity itself ows through the surface
that bounds the volume,
2. there is a source of the physical quantity on the surface of the volume, or/and,

EJ ei = Ji = iJ
and the relationship between ui and UJ is then given by

ui = iJ UJ

or

UJ = Ji ui

Knowing that

3. there is a source of the physical quantity inside the

volume.
Let be the body (an open subset of Euclidean space)
and let be its surface (the boundary of ).
Let the motion of material points in the body be described
by the map

ei = iJ EJ
then

x = (X) = x(X)

u(X, t) = ui ei = ui (iJ EJ ) = UJ EJ = U(x, t)

where X is the position of a point in the initial conguration and x is the location of the same point in the deformed conguration.

8.2

ClausiusDuhem inequality

The deformation gradient is given by

F =

8.1

In the above, P is the rst Piola-Kirchho stress tensor,

and 0 is the mass density in the reference conguration.
The rst Piola-Kirchho stress tensor is related to the
Cauchy stress tensor by

x
= x .
X

P = J F T where J = det(F )

Balance laws

Let f (x, t) be a physical quantity that is owing through

the body. Let g(x, t) be sources on the surface of the body
and let h(x, t) be sources inside the body. Let n(x, t) be
the outward unit normal to the surface . Let v(x, t)
be the ow velocity of the physical particles that carry
the physical quantity that is owing. Also, let the speed
at which the bounding surface is moving be un (in the
direction n ).

We can alternatively dene the nominal stress tensor N

which is the transpose of the rst Piola-Kirchho stress
tensor such that

N = P T = J F 1 .
Then the balance laws become

Then, balance laws can be expressed in the general form

det(F ) 0 = 0
Mass of Balance

x
Momentum Linear of
0 N 0 b = 0
d
f (x, t) dV =
f (x, t)[un (x, t)v(x, t)n(x, t)] dA+
g(x, t) dA+ h(x, t) dV . T
T
dt
Momentum Angular o

F N = N F

Energy. of Balance
Note that the functions f (x, t) , g(x, t) , and h(x, t) can 0 e N : F + q 0 s = 0
be scalar valued, vector valued, or tensor valued - deThe operators in the above equations are dened as such
pending on the physical quantity that the balance equation
that
deals with. If there are internal boundaries in the body,
jump discontinuities also need to be specied in the balance laws.
3
3
3

vi
vi
ei ej = vi,j ei ej ; v =
= vi,i ; S =
If we take the Eulerian point of view, it can be shown that v =
xj
xi
i,j=1
i=1
i,j
the balance laws of mass, momentum, and energy for a
solid can be written as (assuming the source term is zero
where v is a vector eld, S is a second-order tensor eld,
for the mass and angular momentum equations)
and ei are the components of an orthonormal basis in the
current conguration. Also,
[

+ v = 0

Mass of Balance

v b = 0
=
e : (v) + q s = 0

motion) of law rst (Cauchy's

Momentum Linear of Balance
3
3

vi
vi
second
Ei Ej ;ofBalance
= vi,i ; S
motion) of law
v = (Cauchy'sEMomentum
i Ej = vi,jAngular
v =
Xj
Xi
i,j=1
i=1
Energy. of Balance

where v is a vector eld, S is a second-order tensor eld,

In the above equations (x, t) is the mass density (curand Ei are the components of an orthonormal basis in the
rent), is the material time derivative of , v(x, t) is
reference conguration.
the particle velocity, v is the material time derivative of
v , (x, t) is the Cauchy stress tensor, b(x, t) is the body The inner product is dened as
force density, e(x, t) is the internal energy per unit mass,
e is the material time derivative of e , q(x, t) is the heat
3
ux vector, and s(x, t) is an energy source per unit mass.

A:B=
Aij Bij = trace(AB T ) .
With respect to the reference conguration (the Lai,j=1
grangian point of view), the balance laws can be written
as

8.2 ClausiusDuhem inequality

det(F ) 0 = 0
P
0 x

0 b = 0
F PT = P FT

0 e P T : F + q 0 s = 0

Mass of
Balance
The
ClausiusDuhem inequality can be used to express
the
second
thermodynamics for elastic-plastic maMomentum Linearlaw
of of
Balance
terials. This inequality is a statement concerning the irMomentum
Angular
Balance
reversibility
ofof
natural
processes, especially when energy
Energy.dissipation
of Balanceis involved.

11 NOTES

9 Applications

Just like in the balance laws in the previous section, we

assume that there is a ux of a quantity, a source of the
quantity, and an internal density of the quantity per unit
mass. The quantity of interest in this case is the entropy.
Thus, we assume that there is an entropy ux, an entropy
source, and an internal entropy density per unit mass (
) in the region of interest.

Mechanics
Solid mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Engineering

Let be such a region and let be its boundary. Then

the second law of thermodynamics states that the rate of
increase of in this region is greater than or equal to
the sum of that supplied to (as a ux or from internal
sources) and the change of the internal entropy density
due to material owing in and out of the region.

Mechanical engineering
Chemical engineering
Civil engineering
Aerospace engineering

Let move with a ow velocity un and let particles

inside have velocities v . Let n be the unit outward
normal to the surface . Let be the density of matter
in the region, q be the entropy ux at the surface, and r
be the entropy source per unit mass. Then the entropy
inequality may be written as

d
dt

)
dV

Bernoullis principle
Cauchy elastic material

(un vn) dA+

10 See also

q dA+

The scalar entropy ux can be related to the vector ux

at the surface by the relation q = (x) n . Under
the assumption of incrementally isothermal conditions,
we have

Congurational mechanics
rdV.
Curvilinear coordinates
Equation of state
Finite deformation tensors
Finite strain theory
Hyperelastic material

(x) =

Lagrangian and Eulerian specication of the ow

eld

q(x)
s
; r=
T
T

where q is the heat ux vector, s is an energy source per

unit mass, and T is the absolute temperature of a material
point at x at time t .
We then have the ClausiusDuhem inequality in integral
form:

Movable cellular automaton

Peridynamics (a non-local continuum theory leading
to integral equations)
Stress (physics)
Stress measures

d
dt

)
dV

(un v n) dA

Tensor
calculus

qn
s
dA +
dV.
Tensor
derivative (continuum mechanics)
T
T

We can show that the entropy inequality may be written

in dierential form as

11 Notes

( )
q
s

+
.
T
T

[1] Ostoja-Starzewski, M. (2008). 7-10. Microstructural

randomness and scaling in mechanics of materials. CRC
Press. ISBN 1-58488-417-7.

In terms of the Cauchy stress and the internal energy, the

ClausiusDuhem inequality may be written as

(e T )
: v

Theory of elasticity

q T
.
T

[2] A. J. Roberts, A one-dimensional introduction to continuum mechanics, World Scientic, 1994

[3] Dienes, J. K.; Solem, J. C. (1999). Nonlinear behavior of some hydrostatically stressed isotropic elastomeric
foams. Acta Mechanica 138: 155162.

[4] Smith & Truesdell p.97

[5] Slaughter
[6] Lubliner
[7] Liu
[8] Wu
[9] Fung

Fung, Y. C. (1977). A First Course in Continuum

Mechanics (2nd ed.). Prentice-Hall, Inc. ISBN 013-318311-4.
Gurtin, M. E. (1981). An Introduction to Continuum
Mechanics. New York: Academic Press.
Lai, W. Michael; David Rubin; Erhard Krempl
(1996). Introduction to Continuum Mechanics (3rd
ed.). Elsevier, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7506-2894-5.

[10] Mase
[11] Atanackovic

Lubarda, Vlado A. (2001). Elastoplasticity Theory.

CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-1138-1.

[12] Irgens
[13] Chadwick
[14] Maxwell pointed out that nonvanishing body moments exist in a magnet in a magnetic eld and in a dielectric material in an electric eld with dierent planes of polarization. Fung p.76.
[15] Couple stresses and body couples were rst explored by
Voigt and Cosserat, and later reintroduced by Mindlin in
1960 on his work for Bell Labs on pure quartz crystals.
Richards p.55.
[16] Spencer, A.J.M. (1980). Continuum Mechanics. Longman Group Limited (London). p. 83. ISBN 0-58244282-6.

12

References

Batra, R. C. (2006). Elements of Continuum Mechanics. Reston, VA: AIAA.

Chandramouli, P.N (2014).
Continuum Mechanics. Yes Dee Publishing Pvt Ltd. ISBN
9789380381398.
Eringen, A. Cemal (1980). Mechanics of Continua
(2nd ed.). Krieger Pub Co. ISBN 0-88275-663-X.
Chen, Youping; James D. Lee; Azim Eskandarian
(2009). Meshless Methods in Solid Mechanics (First
ed.). Springer New York. ISBN 1-4419-2148-6.
Dill, Ellis Harold (2006). Continuum Mechanics:
Elasticity, Plasticity, Viscoelasticity. Germany: CRC
Press. ISBN 0-8493-9779-0.
Dimitrienko, Yuriy (2011). Nonlinear Continuum
Mechanics and Large Inelastic Deformations. Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-0033-8.

Lubliner, Jacob (2008). Plasticity Theory (Revised

Edition) (PDF). Dover Publications. ISBN 0-48646290-0.
Malvern, Lawrence E. (1969). Introduction to the
mechanics of a continuous medium. New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Mase, George E. (1970). Continuum Mechanics.
McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-040663-4.
Mase, G. Thomas; George E. Mase (1999).
Continuum Mechanics for Engineers (Second ed.).
CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-1855-6.
Maugin, G. A. (1999). The Thermomechanics of
Nonlinear Irreversible Behaviors: An Introduction.
Singapore: World Scientic.
Nemat-Nasser, Sia (2006). Plasticity: A Treatise on
Finite Deformation of Heterogeneous Inelastic Materials. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-83979-3.
Ostoja-Starzewski, Martin (2008). Microstructural
Randomness and Scaling in Mechanics of Materials. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall/CRC Press.
ISBN 978-1-58488-417-0.
Rees, David (2006). Basic Engineering Plasticity An Introduction with Engineering and Manufacturing Applications. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 07506-8025-3.
Wright, T. W. (2002). The Physics and Mathematics
of Adiabatic Shear Bands. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

13 External links
Hutter, Kolumban; Klaus Jhnk (2004). Continuum
Methods of Physical Modeling. Germany: Springer.
ISBN 3-540-20619-1.

www.continuummechanics.org

10

14

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