Many physical systems require the description of mechanical interaction across interfaces if they are to be successfully analyzed. Examples in the engineered world range from the design of prosthetics in biomedical engi neering (e. g. , hip replacements); to characterization of the response and durability of head/disk interfaces in computer magnetic storage devices; to development of pneumatic tires with better handling characteristics and increased longevity in automotive engineering; to description of the adhe sion and/or relative slip between concrete and reinforcing steel in structural engineering. Such mechanical interactions, often called contact/impact in teractions, usually necessitate at minimum the determination of areas over which compressive pressures must act to prevent interpenetration of the mechanical entities involved. Depending on the application, frictional be havior, transient interaction of interfaces with their surroundings (e. g. , in termittent stick/slip), thermo-mechanical coupling, interaction with an in tervening lubricant and/or fluid layer, and damage of the interface (i. e. , wear) may also be featured. When taken together (or even separately!), these features have the effect of making the equations of mechanical evolu tion not only highly nonlinear, but highly nonsmooth as well. While many modern engineering simulation packages possess impressive capabilities in the general area of nonlinear mechanics, it can be contended that methodologies typically utilized for contact interactions are relatively immature in comparison to other components of a nonlinear finite element package, such as large deformation kinematics, inelastic material modeling, nonlinear equation solving, or linear solver technology.

Many physical systems require the description of mechanical interaction across interfaces if they are to be successfully analyzed. Examples in the engineered world range from the design of prosthetics in biomedical engi neering (e. g. , hip replacements); to characterization of the response and durability of head/disk interfaces in computer magnetic storage devices; to development of pneumatic tires with better handling characteristics and increased longevity in automotive engineering; to description of the adhe sion and/or relative slip between concrete and reinforcing steel in structural engineering. Such mechanical interactions, often called contact/impact in teractions, usually necessitate at minimum the determination of areas over which compressive pressures must act to prevent interpenetration of the mechanical entities involved. Depending on the application, frictional be havior, transient interaction of interfaces with their surroundings (e. g. , in termittent stick/slip), thermo-mechanical coupling, interaction with an in tervening lubricant and/or fluid layer, and damage of the interface (i. e. , wear) may also be featured. When taken together (or even separately!), these features have the effect of making the equations of mechanical evolu tion not only highly nonlinear, but highly nonsmooth as well. While many modern engineering simulation packages possess impressive capabilities in the general area of nonlinear mechanics, it can be contended that methodologies typically utilized for contact interactions are relatively immature in comparison to other components of a nonlinear finite element package, such as large deformation kinematics, inelastic material modeling, nonlinear equation solving, or linear solver technology.

Topics of this book span the range from spatial and temporal discretization techniques for contact and impact problems with small and finite deformations over investigations on the reliability of micromechanical contact models over emerging techniques for rolling contact mechanics to homogenization methods and multi-scale approaches in contact problems.

Introduction to Computational Contact Mechanics: A Geometrical Approach covers the fundamentals of computational contact mechanics and focuses on its practical implementation. Part one of this textbook focuses on the underlying theory and covers essential information about differential geometry and mathematical methods which are necessary to build the computational algorithm independently from other courses in mechanics. The geometrically exact theory for the computational contact mechanics is described in step-by-step manner, using examples of strict derivation from a mathematical point of view. The final goal of the theory is to construct in the independent approximation form /so-called covariant form, including application to high-order and isogeometric finite elements. The second part of a book is a practical guide for programming of contact elements and is written in such a way that makes it easy for a programmer to implement using any programming language. All programming examples are accompanied by a set of verification examples allowing the user to learn the research verification technique, essential for the computational contact analysis. Key features: Covers the fundamentals of computational contact mechanics Covers practical programming, verification and analysis of contact problems Presents the geometrically exact theory for computational contact mechanics Describes algorithms used in well-known finite element software packages Describes modeling of forces as an inverse contact algorithm Includes practical exercises Contains unique verification examples such as the generalized Euler formula for a rope on a surface, and the impact problem and verification of thå percussion center Accompanied by a website hosting software Introduction to Computational Contact Mechanics: A Geometrical Approach is an ideal textbook for graduates and senior undergraduates, and is also a useful reference for researchers and practitioners working in computational mechanics.

This book is intended to help the reader understand impact phenomena as a focused application of diverse topics such as rigid body dynamics, structural dynamics, contact and continuum mechanics, shock and vibration, wave propagation and material modelling. It emphasizes the need for a proper assessment of sophisticated experimental/computational tools promoted widely in contemporary design. A unique feature of the book is its presentation of several examples and exercises to aid further understanding of the physics and mathematics of impact process from first principles, in a way that is simple to follow.

Indispensable treatise on the mechanics of extreme dynamic events, including impact, shocks, penetration and high-rate material response.

The field of rock mechanics and rock engineering utilizes the basic laws of continuum mechanics and the techniques developed in computational mechanics. This book describes the basic concepts behind these fundamental laws and their utilization in practice irrespective of whether rock/rock mass contains discontinuities. This book consists of nine chapters and six appendices. The first four chapters are concerned with continuum mechanics aspects, which include the basic operations, definition of stress and strain tensors, and derivation of four fundamental conservation laws in the simplest yet precise manner. The next two chapters are the preparation for computational mechanics, which require constitutive laws of geomaterials relevant to each conservation law and the procedures for how to determine required parameters of the constitutive laws. Computational mechanics solves the resulting ordinary and partial differential equations. In Chapter 7, the methods of exact (closed-form) solutions are explained and they are applied to ordinary/partial differential equations with solvable boundary and initial conditions. In Chapter 8, the fundamentals of approximate solution methods are explained for one dimension first and then how to extend them to multi-dimensional problems. The readers are expected to learn and clearly understand how they are derived and applied to various problems in geomechanics. The final chapter involves the applications of the approximate methods to the actual problems in practice for geomechanical engineers, which cover the continuum to discontinuum, including the stress state of the earth as well as the ground motions induced by earthquakes. Six appendices are provided to have a clear understanding of continuum mechanics operations and procedures for how to deal with discontinuities/interfaces often encountered in rock mechanics and rock engineering.