Introduction to Deformable Body Mechanics

Abstract

Basic concepts of statics were introduced in Chapters 4 and 5 along with some of their applications. The field of statics is based on Newton’s laws (Newtonian mechanics). It constitutes one of the two main branches of the more general field of rigid body mechanics, dynamics being the other branch. The basic assumption in rigid body mechanics is that the bodies involved do not deform under applied loads. This idealization is necessary to simplify the problem under investigation for the sake of analyzing external forces and moments. The field of deformable body mechanics, on the other hand, does not treat the body as rigid, but incorporates the deformability (ability to undergo shape change) and the material properties of the body into the analyses. This field of applied mechanics utilizes the experimentally determined and/or verified relationships between applied forces and corresponding deformations.