Elasticity: theory and applications

Elasticity: Theory and Applications reviews the theory and applications of elasticity. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is concerned with the kinematics of continuous media; the second part focuses on the analysis of stress; and the third part considers the theory of elasticity and its applications to engineering problems. This book consists of 18 chapters; the first of which deals with the kinematics of continuous media. The basic definitions and the operations of matrix algebra are presented in the next chapter, followed by a discussion on the linear transformation of points. The study of finite and linear strains gradually introduces the reader to the tensor concept. Orthogonal curvilinear coordinates are examined in detail, along with the similarities between stress and strain. The chapters that follow cover torsion; the three-dimensional theory of linear elasticity and the requirements for the solution of elasticity problems; the method of potentials; and topics related to cylinders, disks, and spheres. This book also explores straight and curved beams; the semi-infinite elastic medium and some of its related problems; energy principles and variational methods; columns and beam-columns; and the bending of thin flat plates. The final chapter is devoted to the theory of thin shells, with emphasis on geometry and the relations between strain and displacement. This text is intended to give advanced undergraduate and graduate students sound foundations on which to build advanced courses such as mathematical elasticity, plasticity, plates and shells, and those branches of mechanics that require the analysis of strain and stress.