A Lagrangian variational formulation for nonequilibrium thermodynamics. II: Continuum systems. (Q347429)

The authors establish a Lagrangian formulation for nonequilibrium thermodynamics in the case of continuum systems by extending the formulation of discrete systems given in a previous paper [J. Geom. Phys. 111, 169--193 (2017; Zbl 1404.37033)]. From a mathematical point of view, this formulation is an extension of the standard Lagrange-D'Alembert principle used in nonholonomic mechanics. Here, the variational formulation is naturally expressed in the material representation, while its spatial version is obtained via a nonholonomic Lagrangian reduction by symmetry. The theory is illustrated with the examples of a viscous heat conducting fluid and its multicomponent extension including chemical reactions and mass transfer.