Continuum Physics

The continuum description of the mechanics of solids and liquids is discussed in a unified approach using tensor analysis. Deformations of a body are studied and the strain tensor and the rate-of-deformation tensor are introduced. This is followed by a discussion of the stress tensor, and the equations of motion of a body are derived based on the balances of linear and angular momentum. For linear elastic solids the following topics are discussed: constitutive equation, Navier equations, energy principles. For Newtonian fluids we discuss the stress tensor, Navier-Stokes equations, and the first and second law of thermodynamics. The lecture series is then continued with a number of special topics a.o. multicomponent reacting flow (combustion), thermal convection and magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD).