Materials with memory. Initial-boundary value problems for constitutive equations with internal variables (Q1382877)

The book is devoted to initial-boundary value problems, which are derived from the dynamic equation of motion from continuum mechanics, containing the divergence of Cauchy stress tensor. Cauchy stress tensor is expressed via the nonlinear constitutive equation in terms of the gradient of the displacement vector field (like plasticity and viscoplasticity). Here the solutions are also restricted to the dissipation inequality. Just the internal variables involved in the model describe the memory effect. The book contains 9 chapters, first -- an introduction, last -- open problems and related results, and an Appendix related to the consequences of the second law of thermodynamics. In Chapter 2 the author formulates the initial-boundary value problems describing the inelastic behaviour of the metals. In the constitutive framework of small deformations adopted here, the current value of Cauchy stress is function of the elastic part of the strain tensor, while the irreversible part of the strain tensor is incorporated into the set of internal variables, described by the first-order differential equations. The existence of the free energy function, which is potential for the stress, with respect to the (total) strain tensor, is accepted as a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics. The constitutive function, \(f\), which describes the evolution of internal variables, \(z\), and the free energy function, are restricted to satisfy the dissipation inequality, as a consequence of the same law. Only the isothermal processes are considered here. In Section 3.1 an energy estimate for the solutions of the dynamic problems is derived as a consequence of the thermodynamic restrictions, when the homogeneous boundary conditions are accepted. The author introduced a class of evolution functions, for which the dissipation inequality is satisfied. For the uniqueness it is necessary that the free energy be nonnegative, and to have zero value in the undeformed state with zero values of the internal variables. The mathematical description of the constitutive equations selected by the authors, involves a pair \((f,B),\) with \(B\) a linear mapping such that \(Bz\) is like the irreversible part of strain, and with the free energy function of a positive definite quadratic form. The author defines the class of pre-monotone, gradient, monotone or monotone-gradient type, if the pair \((f,B)\) is of the respective type. In Section 3.2 the basic ideas of the results concerning the uniqueness and existence for the dynamic and quasi-static problems are briefly analysed. In Section 3.3 the author illustrated the notions introduced to classify the constitutive relations, by showing that the examples given in Section 2.2 are either of the pre-monotone type or of monotone-gradient type. In Chapter 4 the theory of evolution equations for monotone operators [cf. \textit{H. Brézis}, Opérateurs maximaux monotones et semi-groupes de contractions dans les espaces de Hilbert (1973; Zbl 0252.47055)]is applied to prove the uniqueness and the existence of the initial-boundary value problems, in their weak formulation, when the free energy is positive-definite and the constitutive equations are maximal monotone. In Section 4.2 it is proved the maximality of the evolution operator related to the dynamic problem. In Chapter 5 -- ``Transformations of Interior Variables'' -- the author enlarges the classes of the rate-dependent constitutive equations for which the existence results can be applied. The problem arises to characterize the class of constitutive equations that can be transformed to the monotone type, and to find the transformation field. Here are some important results: the theorem in Section 5.3 which defines a criteria to transform constitutive equations to pre-monotone or to monotone type, and the theorems from the Sections 5.4 and 5.5 which emphasize the posibilities of constructing the appropriate transformation fields. In Chapter 6, closely related to Chapter 5, the transformation of the constitutive equations are deeply studied. Chapter 7 is devoted to ``Transformation of Rate Independent Constitutive Equations'', general theory in Sections 7.1 and 7.2, and the applicability of the theory is proved for isotropic hardening materials in Sections 7.3 and 7.4. The bibliography contains 215 titles, among them there are references to mechanics literature in order to complete discussion about the mechanical aspects related to the models. The book is addressed to mathematicians in general, and specially to those who are interested in the mathematical analysis of initial-boundary value problems that arise in continuum mechanics. On the other hand the book can be useful to mechanics interested in mathematical aspects related to mechanical problems. The mathematical hypothesis can suggest reasonable assumptions in constructing the models.