This volume is a sequel to the books Fractals: Theory and Applications in Engineering (Springer-Verlag, 1999) and Fractals in Engineering. From Theory to Industrial Applications (Springer-Verlag, 1997), presenting some of the most recent advances in the ?eld. It is a fascinating exercise to follow the progress of knowledge in this interdisciplinary area, as witnessed by these three volumes. First, con?rmingprevioustrendsobservedin1997and1999, appliedma- ematical research on fractals has now reached a mature level, where beautiful theories are developed in direct contact with engineering concerns. The four papers in the Mathematical Aspects section constitute valuable additions to the set of tools needed by the engineer: Synthetic pictures modelling and rendering in computer graphics (Theory and Applications of Fractal Tops, by Michael Barnsley), curve approximation and "fractal B-splines" (Splines, Fractal Functions, and Besov and Triebel-Lizorkin Spaces, by Peter Mas- pust), deep understanding of the Hol ] derian properties of certain stochastic processes useful in a large number of applications (H] olderian random fu- tions, by Antoine Ayache et al. ), and study of the invariant measure of a coupled discrete dynamical system (Fractal Stationary Density in Coupled Maps, byJu]rgen Jost et al. ). The second section of the book describes novel physical applications as well as recent progress on more classical ones. The paper A Network of Fr- tal Force Chains and Their E?ect in Granular Materials under Compression by Luis E. Vallejo et al.
The application of fractals in the engineering sciences is evolving swiftly and the editors have turned to Springer for the third time to bring you the latest research emerging from the rapid growth in techniques available for the employment of the ideas of fractals and complexity to a variety of disciplines in and associated with the engineering field. The strong potential of this research can be seen in real industrial situations with recent progress being made in areas such as chemical engineering, internet traffic, physics and finance. Image processing continues to be a major field of application for fractal analysis and is well-represented here.
It is important to note that the applications models are presented with a firm basis in theoretical argument, the qualitative observation of fractal phenomena no longer being sufficient.
Consisting of papers written by a world-wide pool of experts, the multidisciplinary approach of this third volume will be of particular interest to industrial researchers and practitioners as well as to academics from many backgrounds.
Fractals in Engineering: New Trends in Theory and Applications continues the publication of engineering-related research in fractal techniques begun in Fractals in Engineering and Fractals: Theory and Applications in Engineering (Springer London 1997 and 1999).
