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Introduction to Continuum Mechanics

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As a primary branch of physical mechanics, continuum mechanics deals with forces and behaviours that are continuous throughout a material or system, be it solid or fluid. It includes such behaviors as stress, strain, kinematics, elasticity, and plasticity. Without a thorough understanding of continuum mechancs, virtually all advanced mechanical engineering would be impossible. This classic text by noted educators, W. Michael Lai, David Rubin and Erhard Krempl, has been used for over 30 years to introduce continuum mechanics from the upper undergraduate to graduate level. It begins with a thorough yet highly accessible grounding in the underyling tensor analysis and kinematics. The text presumes prior knowledge of basic differential and integral calculus, but no more. The book goes on to provide examples of everyday applications of continuum methods to such classic problems as loading and deformation of solids as well as stress response in both Newtonian viscous and Non-Newtonian fluids. This new edition offers improvements to address evolving teaching methods, with greater flexibility for either one or two-semeseter usage, including more enhanced coverage of elasticity, and improved problem sets and more real-world applications. It is, and will remain, one of the most accessible textbooks on a perennially challenging engineering subject.* Presents the principles of tensor calculus underlying all of continuum mechanics* New edition includes expanded coverage of elasticity, with solutions based on the fundamental potential functions of Papkovitch and Neuber to the solutions of some 3 D problems* Offers advanced coverage on equations in cylindrical and spherical co-ordinates, along with finite deformation theory* Expanded and improved problem sets that offer real-world applications

624 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 23, 2009

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About the author

W. Michael Lai

7 books13 followers


W. Michael Lai is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering and Orthpaedic Bioengineering at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D in Engineering Mechanics in 1962 from the University of Michigan. Between 1962 and 1986, he was a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He joined the Columbia faculty in 1987 with a joint appointment between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He served as Chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Department from 1996 to 2002 and became Professor Emeritus in 2004. His research field has been in Orthopaedic Bioengineering with a special interest in soft tissue mechanics.

Many of his publications have been in the constitutive modeling of articular cartilage for which he received the ASME Melville Medal in 1982 and the ASME Lissner Medal in 2001. The triphasic model considers the tissue as consisting of three phases: a solid phase, a fluid phase and an ionic phase with two ionic species. The model has been used to study the mechanical and the electromechanical behavior of the tissue including the signal transduction problems in chondrocytes . He is a Fellow of ASME and a founding Fellow of the American Institute for Biomedical and Biological Engineering (1995). At Columbia, he has received a Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award from the Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association (2000).




Books

1. Introduction to Continuum Mechanics, third edition, W. M. Lai, D. Rubin and E. Krempl, Heinnemann/Elsevier, 1994. Fourth edition, to be published in 2009.

2. Fundamentals of Surface Mechanics, with applications F. F. Ling, W. M. Lai and D. Lucca, Springer, 2002

Journal Articles (1990-2004)

1 Kwan MK, Lai WM, Mow VC: A finite deformation theory for cartilage and other soft hydrated connective tissues: I. Equilibrium results. J Biomechanics 23:145-155, 1990.

2 Mow VC, Lai WM, Hou JS: A triphasic theory for the swelling properties of hydrated charged soft biological tissues. Appl Mech Rev 43(part 2):134-141, 1990.

3 Lai WM, Hou JS, Mow VC: Triphasic theory for the swelling properties of hydrated charfe soft biological tissues. In: Biomechanics of Diarthrodial Joints, I, ed by VC Mow, A Ratcliffe, SL-Y Woo, New York, New York, Springer-Verlag, pp 283-312, 1990.

4 Hou JS, Lai WM, Holmes MH, Mow VC: Squeeze film lubrication for articular cartilage with synovial fluid. In: Biomechanics of Diarthrodial Joints, II, ed by VC Mow, A Ratcliffe, SL-Y Woo, New York, New York, Springer-Verlag, pp 347-368, 1990.

5 Zhu WB, Lai WM, Mow VC: The density and strength of proteoglycan-proteoglycan interaction sites in concentrated solutions. J Biomechanics 24:1007-1018, 1991.

6 Lai WM, Hou JS, Mow VC: A triphasic theory for the swelling and deformational behaviors of articular cartilage. J Biomech Engng, ASME, 113:245-258, 1991.

7 Hou JS, Mow VC, Lai WM, Holmes MH: An analysis of the squeeze film lubrication mechanism for articular cartilage. J Biomechanics 25:247-259, 1992.

8 Gu WY, Lai WM, Mow VC: Analysis of fluid and ion transport through a porous charged-hydrated biological tissue during a permeation experiment, Proc Symp Comp Mech Porous Material, ed by NJ Salamon and RM Sullivan, AMD-Vol 136, ASME, pp 29-42, 1992.

9 Gu WY, Lai WM, Mow VC: Transport of fluid and ions through a porous-permeable charged-hydrated tissue, and streaming potential data on normal bovine articular cartilage, J Biomechanics 26:709-723, 1993.

10 Lai WM, Mow VC, Zhu WB: Constitutive modelling of articular cartilage and biomacromolecular solutions. J Biomech Engng, ASME, 115:474-480, 1993.

11 Ateshian GA, Lai WM, Zhu WB, Mow VC: An asymptotic solution for two contacting biphasic cartilage layers. J Biomechanics, 27:1347-1360, 1994.

12 Lai WM, Gu W, Mow VC: Flows of electrolytes through charged hydrated biologic tissue. Appl Mech Rev 47(part 2):277-281, 1994.

13 Setton

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