The IUTAM Symposium on "Multiscale Modelling of Damage and Fracture Processes in Composite Materials" was held in Kazimierz Dolny, Poland, 23 -27 May 2005. The Symposium was attended by 48 persons from 15 countries. During 5 day meeting, 4 keynote lectures and 39 invited lectures were presented. This volume constitutes the Proceedings of the IUTAM Symposium. The main aim of the Symposium was to discuss the basic principles of damage growth and fracture processes in different types of composites: ceramic, polymer and metal matrix composites, cement and bituminous composites and wood. Nowadays,...

"In other words, the invention of a mechanism will be to the scientific kinematist a synthetic problem, - which he can solve by the use of systematic, if also difficult, methods." Reuleaux, F., Theoretische Kinematik, Braunschweig: Vieweg, 1875 Reuleaux, F., The Kinematics of Machinery, London: Macmillan, 1876 and New York: Dover, 1963 (translated by A.B.W. Kennedy) This book represents the third part of a larger work dedicated to the structural synthesis of parallel robots. Part 1 (Gogu 2008a) presented the methodology of structural synthesis and the systematisation of structural solutions...

This book is intended for mechanicians, engineering mathematicians, and, generally for theoretically inclined mechanical engineers. It has its origin in my Master's Thesis (J 957), which I wrote under the supervision of Professor Dr. R. Timman of the Delft TH and Dr. Ir. A. D. de Pater of Netherlands Railways. I did not think that the surface of the problem had even been scratched, so I joined de Pater, who had by then become Professor in the Engineering Mechanics Lab. of the Delft TH, to write my Ph. D. Thesis on it. This thesis (1967) was weil received in railway circles, which is due more...

Composite materials are increasingly used in aerospace, underwater, and automotive structures. To take advantage of the full potential of composite materials, structural analysts and designers must have accurate mathematical models and design methods at their disposal.
The objective of this monograph is to present the laminated plate theories and their finite element models to study the deformation, strength and failure of composite structures. Emphasis is placed on engineering aspects, such as the analytical descriptions, effective analysis tools, modeling of physical features, and...

In recent years, "intelligent (sm. o. rt) structures antlllJ/stems" has become an emerging new research area that is multi-disciplinary in nature, requiring technical expertise from mechanical engineering, structural engineering, electrical engineering, applied mechanics, engineering mathematics, material science, computer science, biological science, etc. This technology is quite likely to contribute significant advancements in the design of high-performance structures, adaptive structures, high-precision systems, micro-systems, etc. Although this emerging area has been rapidly gathering...

This book is intended as an introductory text on Solid Mechanics suitable for engineers, scientists and applied mathematicians. Solid mechanics is treated as a subset of mathematical engineering and courses on this topic which include theoretical, numerical and experimental aspects (as this text does) can be amongst the most interesting and accessible that an undergraduate science student can take. I have concentrated entirely on linear elasticity being, to the beginner, the most amenable and accessible aspect of solid mechanics. It is a subject with a long history, though its development in...

Shell structures are widely used in the fields of civil, mechanical, architectural, aeronautical, and marine engineering. Shell technology has been enhanced by the development of new materials and prefabrication schemes. Despite the mechanical advantages and aesthetic value offered by shell structures, many engineers and architects are relatively unacquinted with shell behaviour and design.
This book familiarizes the engineering and architectural student, as well as the practicing engineer and architect, with the behaviour and design aspects of shell structures. Three aspects are...

Shell structures are used in all phases of structures, from space vehicles to deep submergence hulls, from nuclear reactors to domes on sport arenas and civic buildings. With new materials and manufacturing methods, curved thin walled structures are being used increasingly.
This text is a graduate course in the theory of shells. It covers shells of isotropic materials, such as metal alloys and plastics, and shells of composite materials, such as fibre reinforced polymer, metal or ceramic matrix materials. It provides the essential information for an understanding of the underlying...

The German Research Council (DFG) decided 1987 to establish a nationwide five year research project devoted to dynamics of multibody systems. In this project universities and research centers cooperated with the goal to develop a general pur- pose multibody system software package. This concept provides the opportunity to use a modular structure of the software, i.e. different multibody formalisms may be combined with different simulation programmes via standardized interfaces. For the DFG project the database RSYST was chosen using standard FORTRAN 77 and an object oriented multibody system...