Abstract
Variational principles have always played an important role in theoretical mechanics. To most students of mechanics, they provide alternate approaches to direct applications of local physical laws. The principle of minimum potential energy, for example, can be regarded as a substitute to the equations of equilibrium of elastic bodies, as well as a basis for the study of stability. Hamilton’s principle can be used in lieu of the equations governing dynamical systems, and the variational forms presented by Biot displace certain equations in linear continuum thermodynamics.
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© 1976 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Oden, J.T., Reddy, J.N. (1976). Introduction. In: Variational Methods in Theoretical Mechanics. Universitext. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-96312-4_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-96312-4_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-07600-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-96312-4
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