Continuum Mechanics (Dover Books on Physics) 1st Edition by A. J. M. Spencer (PDF)

Description

The mechanics of fluids and the mechanics of solids represent the two major areas of physics and applied mathematics that meet in continuum mechanics, a field that forms the foundation of civil and mechanical engineering. This unified approach to the teaching of fluid and solid mechanics focuses on the general mechanical principles that apply to all materials. Students who have familiarized themselves with the basic principles can go on to specialize in any of the different branches of continuum mechanics. This text opens with introductory chapters on matrix algebra, vectors and Cartesian tensors, and an analysis of deformation and stress. Succeeding chapters examine the mathematical statements of the laws of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy as well as the formulation of the mechanical constitutive equations for various classes of fluids and solids. In addition to many worked examples, this volume features a graded selection of problems (with answers, where appropriate). Geared toward undergraduate students of applied mathematics, it will also prove valuable to physicists and engineers.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Continuum mechanics (CM) is a beautiful and infinitely useful branch of mathematics, but the learning curve is relatively steep. Once you scale the cliff, you are able to do simply amazing things and gain a deeper appreciation for the deformation of materials. However, most textbooks do not make for decent guides- you need a competent professor to show you the ropes (which I fortunately had). CM is just one of those subjects where you need a lot of practice and study to get good at it.My perspective and experience might make me slightly biased, so keep that in mind. Spencer’s book is not like most. While not perfect, he does a remarkable job of explaining all of the basics of what you need to know to do CM, and then teases with things more complicated (the rabbit hole goes very deep- I promise). Rather than obstinately sticking to either Gibbs notation (boldface vectors and tensors) or indicial notation, he moves between both, and sometimes presents equations in both forms. The figures are as simple as they need to be to get the point across (and no simpler). The important high points are in the book- vector/tensor analysis, kinematics, balance laws, and constitutive equations. The most fleshed out examples come from Spencer’s own research, finite elasticity, which is a great demonstration of all of the important concepts.The length and price certainly are right. Until something better comes along, I would recommend this as a good introductory book, probably supplemented with the

⭐. The book by

⭐, also cheap and thin, isn’t a good starter book- it’s outstanding for quick reference once you know how to talk the talk.

⭐This is the perfect introduction to continuum mechanics. I’ve looked at many other options and kept coming back to this book as it is written in a very methodical manner and doesn’t try to hide details or skip fundamentals.For example, this book is superior to Chadwick’s, which tries to be concise and instead ends up burying the reader in formalism rather than concrete understanding.That said, some parts of the book have some holes in their derivations but that’s no barrier as you can readily derive the steps in between on your own with what is provided. The exercises are not optional in this book, you need to carry them out to understand the material and in some cases, in order to obtain a result you will use to apply the material.At a leisurely rate, it should take you about a month to get through everything but the last two chapters of the book, the last two which need a month on their own. Be prepared to take down notes summarising each of the physical quantities and tensor rules as you learn them, it will help so you don’t have to keep going back and forth in the book.

⭐I purchased Continuum Mechanics by Spencer as a reference material for the first year gradate class on continuum mechanics. I got this book a month ahead just to get ready for the class. I think the book is wonderful particularly in regard to the intellectual depth of the author on the subject and his proficiency on the mathematics involved. But the very strength of the book may also be a huge drawback for particular audiences. The development of the concepts and the mathematics behind it virtually lacks consideration for beginners. Although I could follow significant portion of the mathematics and language presented, I could not form a coherent understanding of the broader concept. Fortunately, as I now actually get lectures in class, things start falling onto the big picture. Once I’m done with the class, I think this book will serve me better. But as of now, I’m going to stick with Schaum’s Outline, which I purchased also from Amazon just after getting this book, as a reference and source of problem sets. If you are an undergrad or first year grad student getting ready for your first continuum mechanics class, get Schaum’s Outline instead. You might also want to consider purchasing Schaum’s Outline on Linear Algebra for review.

⭐The author in this book is really concise, but it is also very clear. It is not an excelent reference to specific issues you can have while dealing with continuum problems, but it certainly gives you a good idea of the concepts. The problems are insufficient, but, again, the strenght of the book is that summarizes the whole continuum theory in a hundred pages.I bought it becuase I was taking a class that used continuum theory at some points and I had no background. Since it is a small book, I read some parts of it in a blink and ended up with the main notions.Finally: it is cheap, it is really a good investment, you’re going to get more of it than what you spend.

⭐This is probably one of the most concise, easy-to-follow introductions to continuum mechanics out there, especially if you have a working knowledge of linear algebra. It is a relatively modern treatment that uses nice matrix notation for the deformation gradient and strain that you will immediately recognize if you have read some of the popular SIGGRAPH papers on deformable model simulation. There is even a brief chapter on nonlinear constitutive laws. I had this book sitting on my desk in my lab at one point, and a random visiting scholar from France came up and said that the book is amazing. So it is also a nice way to make friends.

⭐If you are going to be doing any significant work with continuum mechanics, I would recommend picking up this book. I will not say that it is extremely easy to follow, but if you are taking courses where continuum mechanics come into play, your math skills should be developed enough.Most books/courses/projects that deal with continuum mechanics don’t seem to take the time to really explain it. I can attest that it is possible to get by without a full understanding, but it is many times easier once you have these concepts down solidly. That is what this book did for me.

⭐Topics are explained clearly and sufficiently. I used this for an advanced mechanics course to catch myself up on the basics, and found it immensely helpful. Didn’t like the class, but can’t fault the book for that.

⭐This book is not easy to follow like many dover technical books and you need to already have a thorough grounding in vectors and scalars and matrix algebra. I found that by going to the section on dyadic vectors and tensors and looking up wikipedia articles on them I gained a much better understanding of the maths .

⭐I suspect there are better around but havent found them yet.

⭐A super little “how to calculate stuff” book on continuum mechanics.

⭐I’m at university and this was the book I needed to understand tensorial algebra and its applications for my Biomechanics class. Highly recommended.

⭐O livro faz uma abordagem curta, direta, e complexa à mecânica do contínuo. No inicio da disciplina do mestrado em que usei este livro, não estava entendendo nada. Foi só depois de usar outros livros, como o Reddy por exemplo, que eu consegui entender melhor o esta obra. Durante as explicações o livro usa a notação indicial, o que pode ser um empecilho a primeira vista. Além disso, pula diversos passos no desenvolvimento das equações. Não recomendo usar este livro sem outros autores para guia-lo em paralelo. Depois que algum conhecimento for adquirido no assunto o livro passa a ajudar bastante, e seu demérito de ser direto de mais passa a ser um mérito.

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