Continuum mechanics



Continuum mechanics
Conservation of mass
Conservation of momentum
Navier-Stokes equations
This box: view • talk • edit

Continuum mechanics is a branch of physics (specifically mechanics) that deals with the analysis of the kinematic and mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuum, e.g., gases). A continuum is a body that can be continually sub-divided into infinitesimal small elements with properties being those of the bulk material.

The continuum concept ignores the fact that matter is made of energy.

Continuum mechanics deals with physical quantities, of solids and fluids, which are independent of any particular coordinate system in which they are observed. These physical quantities are then represented by tensors, which are mathematical objects that are independent of coordinate system. These tensors can be expressed in coordinate systems for computational convenience.

In Knudsen number is used to assess to what extent the approximation of continuity can be made.

Applications

Continuum mechanics Solid mechanics is the study of the physics of continuous solids with a defined rest shape. Elasticity (physics) describes materials that return to their rest shape after removal of an applied force.
Plasticity describes materials that permanently deform (change their rest shape) after a large enough applied force. viscoelastic (exhibiting a combination of elastic and viscous properties), the boundary between solid mechanics and fluid mechanics is blurry.
viscosity, which is the force generated by a fluid in response to a velocity gradient. Non-Newtonian fluids
Newtonian fluids


See also

v • d • e
General subfields within physics
Classical mechanics · Electromagnetism · Condensed matter physics · Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Continuum_mechanics". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.