The book retraces the history of the Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (AIMETA) since its establishment in 1965. AIMETA is the official Italian association of mechanics adhering to IUTAM (International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics), which organizes and coordinates a meaningful number of research activities, the most important of which are the biennial National Congress and the internationally renowned journal “Meccanica”, published by Springer. Besides collecting and organizing all related important data and information, as far as possible, by distinguishing among the five scientific areas – general mechanics, solids, structures, fluids, machines – encompassed by AIMETA, the history of the association is assumed as a proper perspective to overview the evolution of theoretical and applied mechanics in Italy over about the last fifty years. This is accomplished in the first part of the book. with also a specific focus on the mechanics of solids and structures, where the biographies of a meaningful number of recognized Italian scholars of mechanics in all areas are also provided, along with testimonials and memories by a few senior people meaningfully involved with AIMETA and Italian mechanics. The second part gives an account, although unavoidably incomplete, of recent developments of mechanical sciences in Italy, as reflected also in the activities of AIMETA and with reference to the international context. Contributions by a number of invited senior scholars, still very active, consist of overviews on some scientific themes in the various areas, summaries of achievements of research groups, expressions of research viewpoints, prospects for future developments.

This textbook provides a unified approach to acoustics and vibration suitable for use in advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate courses on vibration and fluids. The book includes thorough treatment of vibration of harmonic oscillators, coupled oscillators, isotropic elasticity, and waves in solids including the use of resonance techniques for determination of elastic moduli. Drawing on 35 years of experience teaching introductory graduate acoustics at the Naval Postgraduate School and Penn State, the author presents a hydrodynamic approach to the acoustics of sound in fluids that provides a uniform methodology for analysis of lumped-element systems and wave propagation that can incorporate attenuation mechanisms and complex media. This view provides a consistent and reliable approach that can be extended with confidence to more complex fluids and future applications. Understanding Acoustics opens with a mathematical introduction that includes graphing and statistical uncertainty, followed by five chapters on vibration and elastic waves that provide important results and highlight modern applications while introducing analytical techniques that are revisited in the study of waves in fluids covered in Part II. A unified approach to waves in fluids (i.e., liquids and gases) is based on a mastery of the hydrodynamic equations. Part III demonstrates extensions of this view to nonlinear acoustics. Engaging and practical, this book is a must-read for graduate students in acoustics and vibration as well as active researchers interested in a novel approach to the material.

The fundamentals of nonlinear acoustics are presented in form of problems followed by solutions, explanations and answers. As distinct from existing textbooks, this book of problems not only helps the reader to become familiar with nonlinear wave processes and the methods of their description, but contributes to mastering calculation procedures and obtaining numerical estimates of the most significant parameters. Thereby, skills are acquired which are indispensable for carrying out original scientific research. This book can be useful to undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers working in the field of nonlinear wave physics and acoustics.

The book introduces modern high-order methods for computational fluid dynamics. As compared to low order finite volumes predominant in today's production codes, higher order discretizations significantly reduce dispersion errors, the main source of error in long-time simulations of flow at higher Reynolds numbers. A major goal of this book is to teach the basics of the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method in terms of its finite volume and finite element ingredients. It also discusses the computational efficiency of high-order methods versus state-of-the-art low order methods in the finite difference context, given that accuracy requirements in engineering are often not overly strict. The book mainly addresses researchers and doctoral students in engineering, applied mathematics, physics and high-performance computing with a strong interest in the interdisciplinary aspects of computational fluid dynamics. It is also well-suited for practicing computational engineers who would like to gain an overview of discontinuous Galerkin methods, modern algorithmic realizations, and high-performance implementations.

Rotating Machinery, Hybrid Test Methods, Vibro-Acoustics & Laser Vibrometry, Volume 8.Proceedings of the 34th IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Dynamics of Multiphysical Systems: From Active Materials to Vibroacoustics, 2016, the eighth volume of ten from the Conference brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Structural Dynamics, including papers on: • Processing Modal Data • Rotating Machinery • Vibro Acoustics • Laser Vibrometry • Teaching Practices • Hybrid Testing • Reduced Order Modeling

Over the past 50 years, strain gradient material theories have been developed for the continuum modeling of size effects in materials and structures in terms of their elasticity, plasticity and fracturing. This book puts forward a unifying perspective to combine existing theories involving the higher order gradient of the strain tensor, or of plastic strain. It begins by reviewing experimental findings on the existence (or non-existence) of size effects on the mechanics of materials. In turn, the book devises first, second and higher order strain gradient theories from general principles, and presents constitutive frameworks that satisfy thermodynamic requirements. The special case of strain gradient plasticity is then developed and illustrated via computational analyses of size effects on the plasticity of metals at small scales. In closing, the book explains the origin of gradient effects in the case of lattice structures by drawing on homogenization theory.

This book highlights the latest innovations and applications in robotics, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the ROMANSY 2020, the 23rd CISM IFToMM Symposium on Theory and Practice of Robots and Manipulators. The ROMANSY symposium is the first established conference that focuses on robotics theory and research, rather than industrial aspects. Bringing together researchers from a broad range of countries, the symposium is held bi-annually and plays a vital role in the development of the theory and practice of robotics, as well as the mechanical sciences. ROMANSY 2020 marks the 23rd installment in a series that began in 1973. The event was also the first topic-specific conference of the IFToMM, though not exclusively intended for the IFToMM community.

Chaos: from simple models to complex systems aims to guide science and engineering students through chaos and nonlinear dynamics from classical examples to the most recent fields of research. The first part, intended for undergraduate and graduate students, is a gentle and self-contained introduction to the concepts and main tools for the characterization of deterministic chaotic systems, with emphasis to statistical approaches. The second part can be used as a reference by researchers as it focuses on more advanced topics including the characterization of chaos with tools of information theory and applications encompassing fluid and celestial mechanics, chemistry and biology. The book is novel in devoting attention to a few topics often overlooked in introductory textbooks and which are usually found only in advanced surveys such as: information and algorithmic complexity theory applied to chaos and generalization of Lyapunov exponents to account for spatiotemporal and non-infinitesimal perturbations. The selection of topics, numerous illustrations, exercises and proposals for computer experiments make the book ideal for both introductory and advanced courses. Sample Chapter(s). Introduction (164 KB). Chapter 1: First Encounter with Chaos (1,323 KB). Contents: First Encounter with Chaos; The Language of Dynamical Systems; Examples of Chaotic Behaviors; Probabilistic Approach to Chaos; Characterization of Chaotic Dynamical Systems; From Order to Chaos in Dissipative Systems; Chaos in Hamiltonian Systems; Chaos and Information Theory; Coarse-Grained Information and Large Scale Predictability; Chaos in Numerical and Laboratory Experiments; Chaos in Low Dimensional Systems; Spatiotemporal Chaos; Turbulence as a Dynamical System Problem; Chaos and Statistical Mechanics: Fermi-Pasta-Ulam a Case Study. Readership: Students and researchers in science (physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology) and engineering.

The essential introduction to the principles and applications of feedback systems—now fully revised and expanded This textbook covers the mathematics needed to model, analyze, and design feedback systems. Now more user-friendly than ever, this revised and expanded edition of Feedback Systems is a one-volume resource for students and researchers in mathematics and engineering. It has applications across a range of disciplines that utilize feedback in physical, biological, information, and economic systems. Karl Åström and Richard Murray use techniques from physics, computer science, and operations research to introduce control-oriented modeling. They begin with state space tools for analysis and design, including stability of solutions, Lyapunov functions, reachability, state feedback observability, and estimators. The matrix exponential plays a central role in the analysis of linear control systems, allowing a concise development of many of the key concepts for this class of models. Åström and Murray then develop and explain tools in the frequency domain, including transfer functions, Nyquist analysis, PID control, frequency domain design, and robustness. Features a new chapter on design principles and tools, illustrating the types of problems that can be solved using feedback Includes a new chapter on fundamental limits and new material on the Routh-Hurwitz criterion and root locus plots Provides exercises at the end of every chapter Comes with an electronic solutions manual An ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students Indispensable for researchers seeking a self-contained resource on control theory