In this book, regular structures are de ned as periodic structures consisting of repeated elements (translational symmetry) as well as structures with a geom- ric symmetry. Regular structures have for a long time been attracting the attention of scientists by the extraordinary beauty of their forms. They have been studied in many areas of science: chemistry, physics, biology, etc. Systems with geometric symmetry are used widely in many areas of engineering. The various kinds of bases under...

This book guides undergraduate students in the use of Maxima—a computer algebra system—in solving problems in classical mechanics. It functions well as a supplement to a typical classical mechanics textbook.When it comes to problems that are too difficult to solve by hand, computer algebra systems that can perform symbolic mathematical manipulations are a valuable tool. Maxima is particularly attractive in that it is open-source, multiple-platform software that st...

At first sight, finitely generated abelian groups and canonical forms of matrices appear to have little in common. However, reduction to Smith normal form, named after its originator H.J.S.Smith in 1861, is a matrix version of the Euclidean algorithm and is exactly what the theory requires in both cases. Starting with matrices over the integers, Part 1 of this book provides a measured introduction to such groups: two finitely generated abelian groups are isomorphic if and only if their inv...

This monograph, written from a numerical analysis perspective, aims to provide a comprehensive treatment of both the mathematical framework and the numerical methods for flexible multibody dynamics. Not only is this field permanently and rapidly growing, with various applications in aerospace engineering, biomechanics, robotics, and vehicle analysis, its foundations can also be built on reasonably established mathematical models. Regarding actual computations, great strides have been made ...

In the framework of the Diderot Mathematical Forum (DMF) of the European Mathematical Society (EMS), December 19-20, 1997, a Videoconference was held linking three teams of specialists in Amsterdam, Madrid and Venice respectively. The general subject of this videoconference, the second one of the DMF series, was Mathematics and Environment and more specifically, Problems related to Water.This volume contains the texts of the Madrid site contributions with important, new and unpubli...

This brief provides guidance for the application of cohesive models to determine damage and fracture in materials and structural components. This can be done for configurations with or without a pre-existing crack. Although the brief addresses structural behaviour, the methods described herein may also be applied to any deformation induced material damage and failure, e.g. those occurring during manufacturing processes. The methods described are applicable to the behaviour of ductile metal...

How can we optimize a bedridden patient’s mattress? How can we make a passenger seat on a long distance flight or ride more comfortable? What qualities should a runner’s shoes have? To objectively address such questions using engineering and scientific methods, adequate virtual human body models for use in computer simulation of loading scenarios are required. The authors have developed a novel method incorporating subject studies, magnetic resonance imaging, 3D-CAD-reconstruction, continu...

Fracture mechanics is a vast and growing field. This book develops the basic elements needed for both fracture research and engineering practice. The emphasis is on continuum mechanics models for energy flows and crack-tip stress- and deformation fields in elastic and elastic-plastic materials. In addition to a brief discussion of computational fracture methods, the text includes practical sections on fracture criteria, fracture toughness testing, and methods for measuring stress intensity...

This book presents an introduction to the representation theory of wreath products of finite groups and harmonic analysis on the corresponding homogeneous spaces. The reader will find a detailed description of the theory of induced representations and Clifford theory, focusing on a general formulation of the little group method. This provides essential tools for the determination of all irreducible representations of wreath products of finite groups. The exposition also includes a detailed...

Mathematical methods and theories with interdisciplinary applications are presented in this book. The eighteen contributions presented in this Work have been written by eminent scientists; a few papers are based on talks which took place at the International Conference at the Hellenic Artillery School in May 2015. Each paper evaluates possible solutions to long-standing problems such as the solvability of the direct electromagnetic scattering problem, geometric approaches to cyber security...

In this book, the author introduces the concept of unsteady aerodynamics and its underlying principles. He provides the readers with a comprehensive review of the fundamental physics of free and forced unsteadiness, the terminology and basic equations of aerodynamics ranging from incompressible flow to hypersonics. The book also covers modern topics related to the developments made in recent years, especially in relation to wing flapping for propulsion. The book is written for graduate and...

This book presents the singular configurations associated with a robot mechanism, together with robust methods for their computation, interpretation, and avoidance path planning. Having such methods is essential as singularities generally pose problems to the normal operation of a robot, but also determine the workspaces and motion impediments of its underlying mechanical structure. A distinctive feature of this volume is that the methods are applicable to nonredundant mechanisms of genera...