Mechanics And Mathematics Of Crystals

This book is a unique and comprehensive collection of pioneering contributions to the mechanics of crystals by J L Ericksen, a prominent and leading contributor to the study of the mechanics and mathematics of crystalline solids over the past 35 years.It presents a splendid corpus of research papers that cover areas on crystal symmetry, constitutive equations, defects and phase transitions — all topics of current importance to a broad group of workers in the field.The volume thus provides in one place material that is frequently referenced by numerous researchers on crystals across a spectrum of activities in areas of continuum mechanics, applied mathematics, engineering and materials science.Each group of papers or chapters in the book is preceded by a summary introduction that describes how the papers on that topic fit together, and in which Ericksen sketches the context of each paper and shares with the reader his thinking and insightfulness in writing it. The volume, edited by internationally renowned scholars whose works in finite elasticity and continuum mechanics have appeared in a variety of books and prestigious journals published over the past four decades, also includes a very interesting brief autobiography by Ericksen. In it he describes his early life in Oregon, his wartime experiences, his student days and postgraduate study, his introduction to scientific work, and what motivated him in his research. An English translation and revision of the first paper in this volume, originally published in Russian, appears here for the first time.

This book describes behavior of crystalline solids primarily via methods of modern continuum mechanics. Emphasis is given to geometrically nonlinear descriptions, i.e., finite deformations. Primary topics include anisotropic crystal elasticity, plasticity, and methods for representing effects of defects in the solid on the material's mechanical response. Defects include crystal dislocations, point defects, twins, voids or pores, and micro-cracks. Thermoelastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric behaviors are addressed. Traditional and higher-order gradient theories of mechanical behavior of crystalline solids are discussed. Differential-geometric representations of kinematics of finite deformations and lattice defect distributions are presented. Multi-scale modeling concepts are described in the context of elastic and plastic material behavior. Representative substances towards which modeling techniques may be applied are single- and poly- crystalline metals and alloys, ceramics, and minerals. This book is intended for use by scientists and engineers involved in advanced constitutive modeling of nonlinear mechanical behavior of solid crystalline materials. Knowledge of fundamentals of continuum mechanics and tensor calculus is a prerequisite for accessing much of the text. This book could be used as supplemental material for graduate courses on continuum mechanics, elasticity, plasticity, micromechanics, or dislocation mechanics, for students in various disciplines of engineering, materials science, applied mathematics, and condensed matter physics.

Continuum Models for Phase Transitions and Twinning in Crystals presents the fundamentals of a remarkably successful approach to crystal thermomechanics. Developed over the last two decades, it is based on the mathematical theory of nonlinear thermoelasticity, in which a new viewpoint on material symmetry, motivated by molecular theories, plays a c

Essentially there are two variational theories of liquid crystals explained in this book. The theory put forward by Zocher, Oseen and Frank is classical, while that proposed by Ericksen is newer in its mathematical formulation although it has been postulated in the physical literature for the past two decades. The newer theory provides a better explanation of defects in liquid crystals, especially of those concentrated on lines and surfaces, which escape the scope of the classical theory. The book opens the way to the wealth of applications that will follow.

Examines the advances made in the field in recent years and looks at the various methods now used; ideal for graduate students and researchers.

This is a book on the dissipative dynamics of ordered fluids, with a particular focus on liquid crystals. It covers a whole range of different theories, mainly concerned with nematic liquid crystals in both their chiral and nonchiral variants. The authors begin by giving a detailed account of the molecular origins of orientational order in fluids. They then go on to develop a general framework in which continuum theories for ordered fluids can be phrased. Within this unified setting, they cover both well-established classical theories and new ones with aspects that are not yet completely settled. The book treats a wide range of hydrodynamic theories for liquid crystals, from the original 1960s works by Ericksen and Leslie to new, fast-developing ideas of liquid crystal science. The final chapter is devoted to nematoacoustics and its applications. Old experiments on the propagation of ultrasound waves in nematic liquid crystals are interpreted and explained in the light of a new theory developed within the general theoretical infrastructure proposed in the body of the book. This book is intended both for graduate students and professional scholars in mathematics, physics, and engineering of advanced materials. It delivers a solid framework for liquid crystal hydrodynamics and shows the unifying concepts at the basis of the classical theories. It illustrates how these concepts can also be applied to a wide variety of modern topics. Andre M. Sonnet is in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (Scotland) and Epifanio G. Virga is in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Pavia (Italy). They have a long history of working together in liquid crystal science and have contributed, in particular, to the theories of defects and biaxial nematics.

Publisher Description

This book summarizes a number of fundamental developments at the interface of granular crystals and the mathematical and computational analysis of some of their key localized nonlinear wave solutions. The subject presents a blend of the appeal of granular crystals as a prototypical engineering tested for a variety of diverse applications, the novelty in the nonlinear physics of its coherent structures, and the tractability of a series of mathematical and computational techniques to analyse them. While the focus is on principal one-dimensional solutions such as shock waves, traveling waves, and discrete breathers, numerous extensions of the discussed patterns, e.g., in two dimensions, chains with defects, heterogeneous settings, and other recent developments are discussed. The emphasis on the subject was motivated by models in condensed matter physics, ferroelectrics, high energy physics, and statistical mechanics, leading to developments in mathematical analysis, numerical computation and insights on the physical aspects of the model. The book appeals to researchers in the field, as well as for graduate and advanced undergraduate students. It will be of interest to mathematicians, physicists and engineers alike.