Continuum mechanics and theory of materials. Transl. from German by Joan A. Kurth (Q4935947)

Material modelling within the continuum-mechanical frame is a rapidly developing branch, which frequently needs a description of the the state-of-art, collecting and comparing different approaches and proposals, and setting them in a general format. This was done by \textit{A. Krawietz} [Materialtheorie. Mathematische Beschreibung des phaenomenologischen thermomechanischen Verhaltens. (German), Berlin etc.: Springer-Verlag. XIV (1986; Zbl 0593.73001)], by \textit{M. Silhavy} [The mechanics and thermodynamics of continuous media. Texts and Monographs in Physics. Berlin: Springer. xiv (1997; Zbl 0870.73004)], and presently, by \textit{P. Haupt}. Common to all of these books is the fulfillment of the following requirements: nonlinearity inherent to large deformation analysis and, consequently, the development of objective or invariant constitutive settings; thermodynamical compatibility, mostly established by the identical fulfillment of the Clausius-Duhem-inequality; description of inelastic behaviour of both rate-independent (elasto-plastic) and rate-dependent (viscoelastic, viscoplastic) type. Moreover, the use of a direct tensor notation leading to more mathematical clearness and rigor, became more and more standard in such books. The author, a well-known expert in the field, contributed important suggestions on endochronic models, finite viscoelasticity, plasticity, polymer mechanics, and many other topics. He certainly has a broad overview over current problems and issues in material theory. At the same time, Haupt is a talented and experienced teacher, giving clear and comprehensive introductions into such complex theories as plasticity and viscoplasticity, both still far from being well-established textbook knowledge. The outcome is a carefull introduction into material theory, and a detailed presentation of numerous different suggestions of some novelty. The book is therefore recommendable not only for students with some background in tensor calculus and continuum mechanics, but also for advanced researchers and engineers in the field, who will surely find fruitfull stimulations when reading this rich source of material theory.