F. dell'Isola, L. Placidi: Variational principles are a powerful tool also for formulating field theories. - F. dell'Isola, P. Seppecher, A. Madeo: Beyond Euler-Cauchy Continua. The structure of contact actions in N-th gradient generalized continua: a generalization of the Cauchy tetrahedron argument. - B. Bourdin, G.A. Francfort: Fracture. - S. Gavrilyuk: Multiphase flow modeling via Hamilton's principle. - V. L. Berdichevsky: Introduction to stochastic variational problems. - A. Carcaterra: New concepts in damping generation and control: theoretical formulation and industrial applications. - F. dell'Isola, P. Seppecher, A. Madeo: Fluid shock wave generation at solid-material discontinuity surfaces in porous media. Variational methods give an efficient and elegant way to formulate and solve mathematical problems that are of interest to scientists and engineers. In this book three fundamental aspects of the variational formulation of mechanics will be presented: physical, mathematical and applicative ones. The first aspect concerns the investigation of the nature of real physical problems with the aim of finding the best variational formulation suitable to those problems. The second aspect is the study of the well-posedeness of those mathematical problems which need to be solved in order to draw previsions from the formulated models. And the third aspect is related to the direct application of variational analysis to solve real engineering problems.

Introduces readers to the fundamentals and applications of variational formulations in mechanics Nearly 40 years in the making, this book provides students with the foundation material of mechanics using a variational tapestry. It is centered around the variational structure underlying the Method of Virtual Power (MVP). The variational approach to the modeling of physical systems is the preferred approach to address complex mathematical modeling of both continuum and discrete media. This book provides a unified theoretical framework for the construction of a wide range of multiscale models. Introduction to the Variational Formulation in Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications enables readers to develop, on top of solid mathematical (variational) bases, and following clear and precise systematic steps, several models of physical systems, including problems involving multiple scales. It covers: Vector and Tensor Algebra; Vector and Tensor Analysis; Mechanics of Continua; Hyperelastic Materials; Materials Exhibiting Creep; Materials Exhibiting Plasticity; Bending of Beams; Torsion of Bars; Plates and Shells; Heat Transfer; Incompressible Fluid Flow; Multiscale Modeling; and more. A self-contained reader-friendly approach to the variational formulation in the mechanics Examines development of advanced variational formulations in different areas within the field of mechanics using rather simple arguments and explanations Illustrates application of the variational modeling to address hot topics such as the multiscale modeling of complex material behavior Presentation of the Method of Virtual Power as a systematic tool to construct mathematical models of physical systems gives readers a fundamental asset towards the architecture of even more complex (or open) problems Introduction to the Variational Formulation in Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications is a ideal book for advanced courses in engineering and mathematics, and an excellent resource for researchers in engineering, computational modeling, and scientific computing.

The essential aim of this book is to consider a wide set of problems arising in the mathematical modeling of mechanical systems under unilateral constraints. In these investigations elastic and non-elastic deformations, friction and adhesion phenomena are taken into account. All the necessary mathematical tools are given: local boundary value problem formulations, construction of variational equations and inequalities and their transition to minimization problems, existence and uniqueness theorems, and variational transformations (Friedrichs and Young-Fenchel-Moreau) to dual and saddle-point search problems.

This book reflects the strong connection between calculus of variations and the applications for which variational methods form the foundation.

This book presents the second volume of Piola’s original Italian text together with the English-language translation and comments, showing convincingly that Gabrio Piola’s work must still be regarded as a modern theory. Gabrio Piola’s work has had an enormous impact on the development of applied mathematics and continuum mechanics. As such, a committee of scientific experts took it upon themselves to translate his complete works. In a second step, they commented on Piola’s work and compared it to modern theories in mechanics in order to stress Piola’s impact on modern science and prove and confirm that he achieved significant milestones in applied mathematics.

Gabrio Piola works had an enormous impact on the development of applied mathematics and continuum mechanics. An excellent scientific committee who took it upon themselves to translate his complete works. In a second step, they commented Piola’s work and compared it to modern theories in mechanics in order to stress Piola’s impact on modern science and proofs that he has set milestones in applied mathematics. This book presents Piola's original Italian text together with ist translations and their comments. It shows impressively that Gabrio Piola’s work must still be regarded as a modern theory.

Fluid-Solid Interaction Dynamics: Theory, Variational Principles, Numerical Methods and Applications gives a comprehensive accounting of fluid-solid interaction dynamics, including theory, numerical methods and their solutions for various FSI problems in engineering. The title provides the fundamental theories, methodologies and results developed in the application of FSI dynamics. Four numerical approaches that can be used with almost all integrated FSI systems in engineering are presented. Methods are linked with examples to illustrate results. In addition, numerical results are compared with available experiments or numerical data in order to demonstrate the accuracy of the approaches and their value to engineering applications. The title gives readers the state-of-the-art in theory, variational principles, numerical modeling and applications for fluid-solid interaction dynamics. Readers will be able to independently formulate models to solve their engineering FSI problems using information from this book. - Presents the state-of-the-art in fluid-solid interaction dynamics, providing theory, method and results - Takes an integrated approach to formulate, model and simulate FSI problems in engineering - Illustrates results with concrete examples - Gives four numerical approaches and related theories that are suitable for almost all integrated FSI systems - Provides the necessary information for bench scientists to independently formulate, model, and solve physical FSI problems in engineering