Variational Methods with Applications in Science and Engineering - Hardcover

Cassel, Kevin W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1107022584 ISBN 13: 9781107022584

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2013

Synopsis

There is an ongoing resurgence of applications in which the calculus of variations has direct relevance.  Variational Methods with Applications in Science and Engineering reflects the strong connection between calculus of variations and the applications for which variational methods form the fundamental foundation.  The material is presented in a manner that promotes development of an intuition about the concepts and methods with an emphasis on applications, and the priority of the application chapters is to provide a brief introduction to a variety of physical phenomena and optimization principles from a unified variational point of view.  The first part of the book provides a modern treatment of the calculus of variations suitable for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in applied mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering. The second part gives an account of several physical applications from a variational point of view, such as classical mechanics, optics and electromagnetics, modern physics, and fluid mechanics.  A unique feature of this part of the text is derivation of the ubiquitous Hamilton's principle directly from the first law of thermodynamics, which enforces conservation of total energy, and the subsequent derivation of the governing equations of many discrete and continuous phenomena from Hamilton's principle.  In this way, the reader will see how the traditional variational treatments of statics and dynamics are unified with the physics of fluids, electromagnetic fields, relativistic mechanics, and quantum mechanics through Hamilton's principle. The third part covers applications of variational methods to optimization and control of discrete and continuous systems, including image and data processing as well as numerical grid generation.  The application chapters in parts two and three are largely independent of each other so that the instructor or reader can choose a path through the topics that aligns with their interests.

About this title

Book Description

There is a resurgence of applications for the calculus of variations. In addition to solid mechanics and dynamics, it is applied to numerical methods, numerical grid generation, modern physics, various optimization settings, and fluid dynamics. The contents of this book reflect the strong connection between calculus of variations and the applications for which variational methods form the fundamental foundation.

About the Author

A graduate of Lehigh University and former National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Kevin Cassel is Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).  He has been a visiting researcher at the University of Manchester, UK and University College London, UK and is a visiting professor at the University of Palermo, Italy.  Professor Cassel has been teaching the course on which this book is based for the past fifteen years.  His research utilizes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in conjunction with advanced analytical methods to address problems in bio-fluids, unsteady aerodynamics, multiphase flow, and cryogenic fluid flow and heat transfer.  Dr. Cassel is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and his honors include IIT's University Excellence in Teaching Award (2008) and Ralph L. Barnett Excellence in Teaching Award (2007, 2001), the 2002 Alfred Noble Prize, and the Army Research Office Young Investigator Award (1998-2001).

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1107022584
• ISBN 13: 9781107022584
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432