This volume contains the proceedings of the Workshop Energy Methods for Free Boundary Problems in Continuum Mechanics, held in Oviedo, Spain, from March 21 to March 23, 1994. It is well known that the conservation laws and the constitutive equations of Continuum Mechanics lead to complicated coupled systems of partial differential equations to which, as a rule, one fails to apply the techniques usually employed in the studies of scalar uncoupled equations such as, for instance, the maximum principle. The study of the qualitative behaviour of solutions of the systems re quires different techniques, among others, the so called, Energy Methods where the properties of some integral of a nonnegative function of one or several unknowns allow one to arrive at important conclusions on the envolved unknowns. This vol ume presents the state of the art in such a technique. A special attention is paid to the class of Free Boundary Problems. The organizers are pleased to thank the European Science Foundation (Pro gram on Mathematical treatment of free boundary problems), the DGICYT (Spain), the FICYT (Principado de Asturias, Spain) and the Universities of Oviedo and Complutense de Madrid for their generous financial support. Finally, we wish to thank Kluwer Academic Publishers for the facilities received for the publication of these Proceedings.

The book unifies classical continuum mechanics and turbulence modeling, i.e. the same fundamental concepts are used to derive model equations for material behaviour and turbulence closure and complements these with methods of dimensional analysis. The intention is to equip the reader with the ability to understand the complex nonlinear modeling in material behaviour and turbulence closure as well as to derive or invent his own models. Examples are mostly taken from environmental physics and geophysics.

Treats subjects directly related to nonlinear materials modeling for graduate students and researchers in physics, materials science, chemistry and engineering.

This book primarily focuses on rigorous mathematical formulation and treatment of static problems arising in continuum mechanics of solids at large or small strains, as well as their various evolutionary variants, including thermodynamics. As such, the theory of boundary- or initial-boundary-value problems for linear or quasilinear elliptic, parabolic or hyperbolic partial differential equations is the main underlying mathematical tool, along with the calculus of variations. Modern concepts of these disciplines as weak solutions, polyconvexity, quasiconvexity, nonsimple materials, materials with various rheologies or with internal variables are exploited. This book is accompanied by exercises with solutions, and appendices briefly presenting the basic mathematical concepts and results needed. It serves as an advanced resource and introductory scientific monograph for undergraduate or PhD students in programs such as mathematical modeling, applied mathematics, computational continuum physics and engineering, as well as for professionals working in these fields.

This publication is aimed at students, teachers, and researchers of Continuum Mechanics and focused extensively on stating and developing Initial Boundary Value equations used to solve physical problems. With respect to notation, the tensorial, indicial and Voigt notations have been used indiscriminately. The book is divided into twelve chapters with the following topics: Tensors, Continuum Kinematics, Stress, The Objectivity of Tensors, The Fundamental Equations of Continuum Mechanics, An Introduction to Constitutive Equations, Linear Elasticity, Hyperelasticity, Plasticity (small and large deformations), Thermoelasticity (small and large deformations), Damage Mechanics (small and large deformations), and An Introduction to Fluids. Moreover, the text is supplemented with over 280 figures, over 100 solved problems, and 130 references.

For the past several decades, the study of free boundary problems has been a very active subject of research occurring in a variety of applied sciences. What these problems have in common is their formulation in terms of suitably posed initial and boundary value problems for nonlinear partial differential equations. Such problems arise, for example, in the mathematical treatment of the processes of heat conduction, filtration through porous media, flows of non-Newtonian fluids, boundary layers, chemical reactions, semiconductors, and so on. The growing interest in these problems is reflected by the series of meetings held under the title "Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications" (Ox ford 1974, Pavia 1979, Durham 1978, Montecatini 1981, Maubuisson 1984, Irsee 1987, Montreal 1990, Toledo 1993, Zakopane 1995, Crete 1997, Chiba 1999). From the proceedings of these meetings, we can learn about the different kinds of mathematical areas that fall within the scope of free boundary problems. It is worth mentioning that the European Science Foundation supported a vast research project on free boundary problems from 1993 until 1999. The recent creation of the specialized journal Interfaces and Free Boundaries: Modeling, Analysis and Computation gives us an idea of the vitality of the subject and its present state of development. This book is a result of collaboration among the authors over the last 15 years.

Studies in Applied Mechanics, 4: Variational, Incremental, and Energy Methods in Solid Mechanics and Shell Theory covers the subject of variational, incremental, and energy methods in Solid Mechanics and Shell Theory from a general standpoint, employing general coordinates and tensor notations. The publication first ponders on mathematical preliminaries, kinematics and stress in three-dimensional solid continua, and the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Discussions focus on the principles of virtual displacements and virtual forces, kinematics of rigid body motions, incremental stresses, kinematics of incremental deformation, description of motion, coordinates, reference and deformed states, tensor formulas for surfaces, and differentials and derivatives of operators. The text then elaborates on constitutive material laws, deformation and stress in shells, first law of thermodynamics applied to shells, and constitutive relations and material laws for shells. Concerns cover hyperelastic incremental material relations, material laws for thin elastic shells, incremental theory and stability, reduced and local forms of the first law of thermodynamics, and description of deformation and motion in shells. The book examines elastic stability, finite element models, variational and incremental principles, variational principles of elasticity and shell theory, and constitutive relations and material laws for shells. The publication is a valuable reference for researchers interested in the variational, incremental, and energy methods in solid mechanics and shell theory.