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Continuum Theory

1.1 The Continuum Concept

The atomic/molecular composition of matter is well established. On a small
enough scale, for instance, a body of aluminum is really a collection of
discrete aluminum atoms stacked on one another in a particular repetitive
lattice. On an even smaller scale, the atoms consist of a core of protons and
neutrons around which electrons orbit. Thus, matter is not continuous. At
the same time, the physical space in which we live is truly a continuum, for
mathematics teaches us that between any two points in space we can always
find another point, regardless of how close together we choose the original
pair. Clearly then, although we may speak of a material body as “occupying”
a region of physical space, it is evident that the body does not totally “fill”
the space it occupies. However, if we accept the continuum concept of matter,
we agree to ignore the discrete composition of material bodies, and to assume
that the substance of such bodies is distributed uniformly throughout, and
completely fills the space it occupies. In keeping with this continuum
model, we assert that matter may be divided indefinitely into smaller and
smaller portions, each of which retains all of the physical properties of the
parent body. Accordingly, we are able to ascribe field quantities such as
density and velocity to each and every point of the region of space which
the body occupies.
The continuum model for material bodies is important to engineers for
two very good reasons. On the scale by which we consider bodies of steel,
aluminum, concrete, etc., the characteristic dimensions are extremely large
compared to molecular distances so that the continuum model provides a
very useful and reliable representation. Additionally, our knowledge of the
mechanical behavior of materials is based almost entirely upon experimental
data gathered by tests on relatively large specimens.

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC

1.2 Continuum Mechanics
The analysis of the kinematic and mechanical behavior of materials modeled
on the continuum assumption is what we know as continuum mechanics.
There are two main themes into which the topics of continuum mechanics
are divided. In the first, emphasis is on the derivation of fundamental equa-
tions which are valid for all continuous media. These equations are based
upon universal laws of physics such as the conservation of mass, the prin-
ciples of energy and momentum, etc. In the second, the focus of attention is
on the development of so-called constitutive equations characterizing the
behavior of specific idealized materials, the perfectly elastic solid and the
viscous fluid being the best known examples. These equations provide the
focal points around which studies in elasticity, plasticity, viscoelasticity, and
fluid mechanics proceed.
Mathematically, the fundamental equations of continuum mechanics men-
tioned above may be developed in two separate but essentially equivalent
formulations. One, the integral or global form, derives from a consideration
of the basic principles being applied to a finite volume of the material. The
other, a differential or field approach, leads to equations resulting from the
basic principles being applied to a very small (infinitesimal) element of
volume. In practice, it is often useful and convenient to deduce the field
equations from their global counterparts.
As a result of the continuum assumption, field quantities such as density
and velocity which reflect the mechanical or kinematic properties of contin-
uum bodies are expressed mathematically as continuous functions, or at
worst as piecewise continuous functions, of the space and time variables.
Moreover, the derivatives of such functions, if they enter into the theory at
all, likewise will be continuous.
Inasmuch as this is an introductory textbook, we shall make two further
assumptions on the materials we discuss in addition to the principal one of
continuity. First, we require the materials to be homogeneous, that is, to have
identical properties at all locations. And second, that the materials be isotropic
with respect to certain mechanical properties, meaning that those properties
are the same in all directions at a given point. Later, we will relax this isotropy
restriction to discuss briefly anisotropic materials which have important
meaning in the study of composite materials.

© 1999 by CRC Press LLC