The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the notions of stress, strain, compatibility, equilibrium and constitutive equations as used in continuum mechanics.
Emphasis is on boundary value problem formulation via simple examples.
The usefulness of energy methods in structural and solid mechanics is covered in the latter part of the course. Introduction to the theory of elasticity. Extension, flexure and torsion of thin walled bars of arbitrary cross section. Introduction to the calculus of variations. Principles of virtual work and minimum potential energy.