Methods of Celestial Mechanics: Vol. I: Physical, Mathematical, and Numerical Principles
G. Beutler's Methods of Celestial Mechanics is a coherent textbook for students in physics, mathematics and engineering as well as an excellent reference for practitioners. This Volume I gives a thorough treatment of celestial mechanics and presents all the necessary mathematical details that a professional would need. After a brief review of the history of celestial mechanics, the equations of motion (Newtonian and relativistic versions) are developed for planetary systems (N-body-problem), for artificial Earth satellites, and for extended bodies (which includes the problem of Earth and lunar rotation). Perturbation theory is outlined in an elementary way from generally known mathematical principles without making use of the advanced tools of analytical mechanics. The variational equations associated with orbital motion - of fundamental importance for parameter estimation (e.g., orbit determination), numerical error propagation, and stability considerations - are introduced and their properties discussed in considerable detail. Numerical methods, especially for orbit determination and orbit improvement, are discussed in considerable depth. The algorithms may be easily applied to objects of the planetary system and to Earth satellites and space debris.
Mechanics : From Newton's Laws to Deterministic Chaos
This updated and revised fourth edition covers all topics in mechanics from elementary Newtonian mechanics, canonical and rigid body mechanics to relativistic mechanics and nonlinear dynamics. In particular, symmetries and invariance principles, geometrical structures and continuum mechanics play an important role. This book will enable the reader to develop general principles from which equations of motions may be derived, to understand the importance of symmetries as a basis for quantum mechanics and to get practice in using theoretical tools and concepts that are essential for all branches of physics. The book contains numerous problems with complete solutions, and some practical examples.This will be appreciated in particular by students using the text to accompnay lectures on mechanics. The book ends with some historical remarks on important pioneers in mechanics.
Mechanical Wave Vibrations: Analysis and Control
Delivers an expert discussion of the wave analysis approach (as opposed to the modal-based approach) to mechanical vibrations in structures. The book begins with deriving the equations of motion using the Newtonian approach based on various sign conventions before comprehensively covering the wave vibration analysis approach. It concludes by exploring passive and active feedback control of mechanical vibration waves in structures.
Geometric mechanics on riemannian manifolds : Applications to partial differential equations
This work presents a purely geometric treatment of problems in physics involving quantum harmonic oscillators, quartic oscillators, minimal surfaces, and Schrödinger's, Einstein's and Newton's equations. Historically, problems in these areas were approached using the Fourier transform or path integrals, although in some cases (e.g., the case of quartic oscillators) these methods do not work. New geometric methods are introduced in the work that have the advantage of providing quantitative or at least qualitative descriptions of operators, many of which cannot be treated by other methods. And, conservation laws of the Euler–Lagrange equations are employed to solve the equations of motion qualitatively when quantitative analysis is not possible. It includes : Lagrangian formalism on Riemannian manifolds; energy momentum tensor and conservation laws; Hamiltonian formalism; Hamilton–Jacobi theory; harmonic functions, maps, and geodesics; fundamental solutions for heat operators with potential; and a variational approach to mechanical curves.
Fundamentals of Structural Dynamics
Explains foundational concepts and principles surrounding the theory of vibrations and gives equations of motion for complex systems. The book presents classical vibration theory in a clear and systematic way, detailing original work on vehicle-bridge interactions and wind effects on bridges. Chapters give an overview of structural vibrations, including how to formulate equations of motion, vibration analysis of a single-degree-of-freedom system, a multi-degree-of-freedom system, and a continuous system, the approximate calculation of natural frequencies and modal shapes, and step-by-step integration methods. Each chapter includes extensive practical examples and problems.
Elastic Multibody Dynamics : A Direct Ritz Approach
This textbook is an introduction to and exploration of a number of core topics in the field of applied mechanics: On the basis of Lagrange's Principle, a Central Equation of Dynamics is presented which yields a unified view on existing methods. From these, the Projection Equation is selected for the derivation of the motion equations of holonomic and of non-holonomic systems. The method is applied to rigid multibody systems where the rigid body is defined such that, by relaxation of the rigidity constraints, one can directly proceed to elastic bodies. A decomposition into subsystems leads to a minimal representation and to a recursive representation, respectively, of the equations of motion.
Dynamics of Flexible Multibody Systems : Rigid Finite Element Method
A new approach is presented for modelling multi-body systems, which constitutes a substantial enhancement of the Rigid Finite Element method. The new approach is based on homogeneous transformations and joint coordinates, and it yields the advantage that equations of motion are automatically generated for systems consisting of alternate rigid and flexible links. Apart from its simple physical interpretation and easy computer implementation, the method is also valuable for educational purposes since it impressively illustrates the impact of mechanical features on the mathematical model. This novel modelling approach is then applied to systems such as offshore-cranes and telescopic rapiers.






