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Book Review
Micromechanics---loosely speaking, is the study of heterogeneities in materials and its consequences for material or continuum behavior. This encompasses studies of inclusions, dislocations, cracks or more generally defects. A related problem is that of "coarse-graining" or in other words the effective homogenized properties of a heterogeneous material. The latter is a recurring theme in all of physical sciences not just solid mechanics. Micromechanics, a formidable subject by all means, dominated a substantial part of the history of solid mechanics. Several of our Timoshenko awardees have been associated with this subject, e.g. Eshelby, Hill, Keller, Irwin, Rice among others.
Li and Wang's new book, "Introduction to Micromechanics and Nanomechanics" is a welcome addition. The reader may directly access the table of contents through the link . I had access to a pre-publication version and have been thumbing through the recently published book for several months now. The biggest strength of the book is its pedagogical emphasis. There are not that many books on this subject. A few classics such as that by Mura are quite useful but Li and Wang's emphasis on writing a "textbook" rather than a monograph makes it quite attractive for beginning graduate students seeking entry into this area. I particularly enjoyed the biographies of various mechanicians dispersed throughout the book.
Despite being an introductory level textbook, I am happy to note the inclusion of some rather eclectic (advanced) topics written in an easy to understand manner (and often hard to find in one location). Some examples and highlights are: (i) lattice statics solution for a defect (ii) contemporary developments in homogenization theory (iii) relevant introduction to the mathematical tools such as functional analysis, variational calculus, Green's function, transform method, Gamma-convergence (iv) surface energy and elasticity theory (v) configurational mechanics (vi) atomic definition of stress (vi) Cauchy-Born rule.
Presumably to keep the size of the book manageable, some topics could not be delved into deeper than I (and other readers) would have liked. As it is, the book is about 500 pages! I hope however that the second edition sees an expansion of some of the topics, in particular in the "nanomechanics" related portions.
- Pradeep Sharma's blog
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Hi Prof. Pradeep
Hi Prof. Pradeep Sharma
I have read the related the chapter of the book written by Li and Wang(Green function and fourier transformation). As you said, it is a good book for those freshmen interested in micromechanics area. It provides me lots of useful informations and knowledge. Thanks very much for introducing that book to me!!!
TAO ZENG
LML,Polytech-Lille
Cite Scientifique
59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq,France
Book Review
Book review could be a good thread in imechanica. A month ago I bought a book based on a comment from a participant here and it was helpful. I know Amazon already has book reviews but will it be helpful to have one here dedicated to books of interest to the applied mechanics community?