In the macroscopic world, most materials that surround us e.g. solids and liquids can safely be assumed to exist as continua, that is, the materials completely fill the space they occupy and the underlying atomic structures can be neglected. The course offers a modern introduction to the physics of continuous matter with an emphasis on examples from natural occurring systems (e.g. in astrophysics, geophysics and other fields). Focus is equally on the underlying formalism of continuum mechanics and phenomenology. In the course you will become familiar with the mechanical behavior of materials ranging from viscous fluids to elastic solids.
For general background information on vectors and tensors please read appendices B, C and to some extent D in the book.
| Week | Topic | Lectures | Exercises |
| 6 | Stress+strain | Chapters 6.1-6.5, 7.1-7.5 and some short comments (2019 version will be updated as we progress). | Exercises available here. Partial answer is available here |
| 7 | Strain+Hooke's law (the short comments have been updated (pdf)) | Chapters 8.1-8.4 and 9.1-9.6. | Exercises available here, Partial answer is available here |
| 8 | Elastic vibrations and continuum dynamics | Chapters 24.1-24.4, 20.1, 12 | Exercises available here. Partial answer is available here |
| 9 | Continuum dynamics and nearly ideal flows | Chapters 12, 13 and 14. | Exercises available here. Partial answer is available here |
| 10 | Nearly ideal and viscous flows | Chapters 14, 15 | Exercises available here |
| 11-12 | The numerical exercise in the note + chapters 16.1-16.4 and 17.1-17.2. Marek's note on FEM. | Additional script for the numerical exercise: trace.py. In addition to the numerical exercise we will in week 11 consider the exercise here | |
The curriculum includes all the exercises and notes given at the lectures and chapters (including subchapters unless otherwise specified): 6, 7, 8, 9, 12.1-12.4, 13, 14, 15, 16.1-16.4, 17.1-17.2, 20.1, 24 + notes/exercises.
At the exam, you will draw a random topic from the list below. You then have 10-15 minutes to give an overview of the subject adressing key points (you are welcome to also include material from the exercises). I will then ask about general problems from the whole curriculum.
Questions for the exam. Below each question is given an optional exercise/keypoint which you may use in your presentation.