Mathematics of Multiscale Materials (The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications)

Polycrystalline metals, porous rocks, colloidal suspensions, epitaxial thin films, rubber, fibre reinforced composites, gels, foams, granular aggregates, sea ice, shape-memory metals, magnetic materials, electro- rheological fluids, and catalytic materials are all examples of materials where an understanding of the mathematics on the different length scales is a key to interpreting their physical behavior. In their analysis of these media, scientists coming from a multitude of professions have encountered similar mathematical problems, yet it is rare for researchers in the various fields to meet. The chapters in this volume have emerged from the 1995-1996 program at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications devoted to Mathematical Methods