APSC 474/574: Continuum Mechanics
This course is intended at the cross-over (500) level for seniors and
first-year graduate students, primarily physics undergraduates and
applied science graduate students. In particular, physics majors who
intend to go on to graduate school in engineering need a background
in solid and fluid mechanics to continue studies in a number of areas.
Similarly, applied science graduate students in several areas of
concentration (esp.
NDE
as well as some applied
mathematics) will benefit from a grounding in the mechanics of continua.
Subjects to be covered are the basic concepts of mechanics and
thermodynamics of continua as well as the following:
- Conservation
of mass, momentum and energy;
- Stresses and strains;
- Viscous fluids,
elasticity and thermal stresses;
- Viscoelasticity and creep, ultimate
failure;
- Introduction to plasticity;
- Elastic waves and elastodynamics.
The mathematical level of the course is cartesian tensors, with some
review of mathematics done at the beginning of the term. Required text
for the course is Fung's "Continuum Mechanics" with Segel's
"Mathematics Applied to Continuum Mechanics" also recommended for
supplementary material.
The course structure is traditional lectures, with both homework
and in-class exams. Additionally, there will be individual projects
chosen by each student to allow a more in depth study of topics of
particular interest.
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