The book gives an overview on formulation, mathematical analysis and numerical solution procedures of contact problems. In this respect the book should be of value to applied mathematicians and engineers who are concerned with contact mechanics.

The contact of one deformable body with another lies at the heart of almost every mechanical structure. Here, in a comprehensive treatment, two of the field's leading researchers present a systematic approach to contact problems. Using variational formulations, Kikuchi and Oden derive a multitude of new results, both for classical problems and for nonlinear problems involving large deflections and buckling of thin plates with unilateral supports, dry friction with nonclassical laws, large elastic and elastoplastic deformations with frictional contact, dynamic contacts with dynamic frictional effects, and rolling contacts. This method exposes properties of solutions obscured by classical methods, and it provides a basis for the development of powerful numerical schemes. Among the novel results presented here are algorithms for contact problems with nonlinear and nonlocal friction, and very effective algorithms for solving problems involving the large elastic deformation of hyperelastic bodies with general contact conditions. Includes detailed discussion of numerical methods for nonlinear materials with unilateral contact and friction, with examples of metalforming simulations. Also presents algorithms for the finite deformation rolling contact problem, along with a discussion of numerical examples.

The fields of boundary integral equations and of inequality problems, or more gen erally, of nonsmooth mechanics, have seen, in a remarkably short time, a considerable development in mathematics and in theoretical and applied mechanics. The engineering sciences have also benefited from these developments in that open problems have been attacked succesfully and entirely new methodologies have been developed. The contact problems of elasticity is a class of problems which has offered many open questions to deal with, both to the research workers working on the theory of boundary integral equations and to those working on the theory of inequality problems. Indeed, the area of static and dynamic contact problems could be considered as the testing workbench of the new developments in both the inequality problems and in the boundary integral equations. This book is a first attempt to formulate and study the boundary integral equations arising in inequality contact problems. The present book is a result of more than two decades of research and teaching activity of the first author on boundary integral equations and, of the second author, on inequality problems, as well as the outgrowth of seminars and courses for a variety of audiences in the Technical University of Aachen, the Aristotle University of Thessa loniki, the Universities of Bochum, of Hamburg and Braunschweig, the Pontificia Univ. Catolica in Rio de Janeiro etc.

In this edited book various novel approaches to problems of current interest in civil engineering are demonstrated. The topics range from dynamic band seismic problems to the analysis of long-span structures and ancient buildings. Experts associated within the Lagrange Laboratory present recent research results on functionally-graded or composite materials, granular materials, geotechnics, as well as frictional or adhesive contact problems.

Real-time simulations of the behaviour of a rail vehicle require realistic solutions of the wheel-rail contact problem which can work in a real-time mode. Examples of such solutions for the online mode have been well known and are implemented within standard and commercial tools for the simulation codes for rail vehicle dynamics. This book is the result of the research activities carried out by the Railway Technology Lab of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Politecnico di Torino. This book presents work on the project for the development of a real-time wheel-rail contact model and provides the simulation results obtained with dSpace real-time hardware. Besides this, the implementation of the contact model for the development of a real-time model for the complex mechatronic system of a scaled test rig is presented in this book and may be useful for the further validation of the real-time contact model with experiments on a full scale test rig.

This book gathers the contributions of the international conference “Optimization and Decision Science” (ODS2018), which was held at the Hotel Villa Diodoro, Taormina (Messina), Italy on September 10 to 13, 2018, and was organized by AIRO, the Italian Operations Research Society, in cooperation with the DMI (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science) of the University of Catania (Italy). The book offers state-of-the-art content on optimization, decisions science and problem solving methods, as well as their application in industrial and territorial systems. It highlights a range of real-world problems that are both challenging and worthwhile, using models and methods based on continuous and discrete optimization, network optimization, simulation and system dynamics, heuristics, metaheuristics, artificial intelligence, analytics, and multiple-criteria decision making. Given its scope of coverage, it will benefit not only researchers and practitioners working in these areas, but also the operations research community as a whole.

Leading experts in the field of behavior therapy review developments in the field and highlight implications for clinical practice. Following a comprehensive overview of behavior therapy by Editor Cyril Franks, each chapter provides an in-depth review of the pertinent literature and a translation of the findings into ramifications for clinical practice and concludes with an overview of the major indicators and contra-indicators for direct application. The practicing clinician will find practical, relevant chapters on obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction.