The General Assembly of the International Union of Theoreti cal and Applied Mechanics decided in Cambridge, United King dom, in 1982 to arrange the Symposium on Optical Methods in the Dynamics of Fluids and Solids. This decision was stimu lated by the fact that optical diagnostic methods are a more and more important tool in experimental mechanics. In contrast to the foregoing Symposium in Poitiers. 1976, which was devoted exclusively to optical methods in the me chanics of solids, it was a fruitful idea to bring together during the present Symposium scientists engaged in optical methods in...

At the suggestion of the USSR National Committee of Theo retical and Applied Mechanios the International Union of Theo retical and Applied Meohanics made a deoision to organize the Second IUTAM Symposium on Laminar-Turbulent Transition in No vosibirsk. Professor Yanenko was entrusted to be the chairman of the scientific committee. It was proposed that about 100 scientists would participate in the Symposium and that 60 lectures and invited lectures would be delivered; as for the theme of the Symposium, it was devoted to experimental and theoretical stu dies of laminar-turbulent transition in...

The Symposium on "The Influence of Polymer Additives on Veloc- ity and Temperature Fields" was proposed to the General Assem- bly of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Me- chanics (IUTAM) by the "Gesellschaft fur Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik" (GAMM). The Symposium was held under the auspices of IUTAM in association with the "Deutsche Rheologische Ge- sellschaft" (DRG) with responsibility for the organization ly- ing with B. Gampert (Universitat-GH-Essen). The main aim of this IUTAM Symposium was to consider the funda- mental aspects of the phenomena that occur when small...

The papers which follow were presented at an International Sym posium held in Lisbon from 8-11 July 1985 on the Hydrodynamics of Ocean Wave-Energy Utilization and sponsored by the Interna tional Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. The subject of the Symposium embraced wave statistics, numerical methods, theoretical, experimental and field studies of wave energy devices. The idea of extracting useful energy from ocean waves continues to attract the curiosity of scientists and engineers in many parts of the world as the following papers indicate. Increasing ly the trend is towards...

A first Symposium on Dynamics of Multibody Systems was held August 29 September 3, 1977 , under the chairmanship of - Prof. Dr. K. Magnus in Munich, FRG. Since that -time considerable progress has been made in the dynamics of multibody systems, a discipline renderin~ essential services to the fields of robotics, biomechanics, spacecraft control, road and rail vehicle design, and dynamics of machinery. Therefore, the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) has initiated and sponsored, in cooperation with the International 'c Federation for Theory of Machines and...

The Symposium "Aero-and Hydroacoustics" was held at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon, France, on 3rd - 6 July 1985, at the initiative of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) . The research topics discussed concerned the acoustics of unstable and turbulent flows and the noise generated by movable surfaces. Other subjects of interest were thermoacoustics, diffraction, and acoustic propagation through turbulence. Applications of numerical and experimental techniques to source diagnostics were discussed, as was active noise control. In Hydroacoustics the emphasis was on...

The IUTAM Symposium on Macro- and Micro-Mechanics of High Velocity Deformation and Fracture (MMMHVDF) (August 12 - 15, 1985) was held at Science Council of Japan, under the sponsor ship of IUTAM, Science Council of Japan, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, The Commemorative Association for the Japan World Exposition (1970), and The Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences. The proposal of the symposium was accepted by the General Assembly of IUTAM, and the scientists mentioned below were appointed by the Bureau of IUTAM to serve as member of the Scientific Committee. The...

During the last ten years a considerable volume of inform ation has been accumulated regarding the inelastic behaviour of materials. The increasing number of communications published in specialised journals and also the frequency of meetings in these fields, indicates a considerable research effort aimed at such topics as plasticity, creep, fatigue, visco-plasticity and the like. This fact encouraged a group of Brazilian researchers, stimulated enthusiastically by Professor P. Germain, to submit a proposal for a Symposium on the "Inelastic Behaviour of Plates and Shells" to the General...

The IUTAM Symposium on Boundary-Layer Separation, suggested by the UK National Committee of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and supported by the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, was held at University College London on August 26-28, 1986. The proposed theme and scope of the Symposium were designed to help to bring about the necessary interaction between experimentalists, computationalists and theoreticians for the furthering of understanding in this challenging subject. The talks and discussions were aimed at representing the very wide range and application of...

The IUTAM Symposium on Advanced Boundary Element Methods brought together both established and current researchers in the broad context of applications of BEM technology. The goal of the Symposium was to provide both a formal and an informal forum for the interchange of ideas and the stimulation of new research directions.