This book presents the topological derivative method through selected examples, using a direct approach based on calculus of variations combined with compound asymptotic analysis. This new concept in shape optimization has applications in many different fields such as topology optimization, inverse problems, imaging processing, multi-scale material design and mechanical modeling including damage and fracture evolution phenomena. In particular, the topological derivative is used here in numerical methods of shape optimization, with applications in the context of compliance structural topology optimization and topology design of compliant mechanisms. Some exercises are offered at the end of each chapter, helping the reader to better understand the involved concepts.

Topological Methods for Differential Equations and Inclusions covers the important topics involving topological methods in the theory of systems of differential equations. The equivalence between a control system and the corresponding differential inclusion is the central idea used to prove existence theorems in optimal control theory. Since the dynamics of economic, social, and biological systems are multi-valued, differential inclusions serve as natural models in macro systems with hysteresis.

This book is intended as an elementary introduction to differential manifolds. The authors concentrate on the intuitive geometric aspects and explain not only the basic properties but also teach how to do the basic geometrical constructions. An integral part of the work are the many diagrams which illustrate the proofs. The text is liberally supplied with exercises and will be welcomed by students with some basic knowledge of analysis and topology.

The book presents new results and applications of the topological derivative method in control theory, topology optimization and inverse problems. It also introduces the theory in singularly perturbed geometrical domains using selected examples. Recognized as a robust numerical technique in engineering applications, such as topology optimization, inverse problems, imaging processing, multi-scale material design and mechanical modeling including damage and fracture evolution phenomena, the topological derivative method is based on the asymptotic approximations of solutions to elliptic boundary value problems combined with mathematical programming tools. The book presents the first order topology design algorithm and its applications in topology optimization, and introduces the second order Newton-type reconstruction algorithm based on higher order topological derivatives for solving inverse reconstruction problems. It is intended for researchers and students in applied mathematics and computational mechanics interested in the mathematical aspects of the topological derivative method as well as its applications in computational mechanics.

This book uses elementary versions of modern methods found in sophisticated mathematics to discuss portions of "advanced calculus" in which the subtlety of the concepts and methods makes rigor difficult to attain at an elementary level.

Manifolds, the higher-dimensional analogs of smooth curves and surfaces, are fundamental objects in modern mathematics. Combining aspects of algebra, topology, and analysis, manifolds have also been applied to classical mechanics, general relativity, and quantum field theory. In this streamlined introduction to the subject, the theory of manifolds is presented with the aim of helping the reader achieve a rapid mastery of the essential topics. By the end of the book the reader should be able to compute, at least for simple spaces, one of the most basic topological invariants of a manifold, its de Rham cohomology. Along the way, the reader acquires the knowledge and skills necessary for further study of geometry and topology. The requisite point-set topology is included in an appendix of twenty pages; other appendices review facts from real analysis and linear algebra. Hints and solutions are provided to many of the exercises and problems. This work may be used as the text for a one-semester graduate or advanced undergraduate course, as well as by students engaged in self-study. Requiring only minimal undergraduate prerequisites, 'Introduction to Manifolds' is also an excellent foundation for Springer's GTM 82, 'Differential Forms in Algebraic Topology'.

This elegant book by distinguished mathematician John Milnor, provides a clear and succinct introduction to one of the most important subjects in modern mathematics. Beginning with basic concepts such as diffeomorphisms and smooth manifolds, he goes on to examine tangent spaces, oriented manifolds, and vector fields. Key concepts such as homotopy, the index number of a map, and the Pontryagin construction are discussed. The author presents proofs of Sard's theorem and the Hopf theorem.