Physics of Elasticity and Crystal Defects: (6 Oxford Series on Materials Modelling)

This textbook is a modern take on an old subject at the heart of materials physics. Properties of crystalline materials are almost always controlled by structural defects within them. Until relatively recently these defects were studied theoretically using continuum elasticity theory which ignores the atomic structure of the host material. This book introduces the concepts of elasticity in the traditional continuum way and also in terms of atomic interactions. It goes on to present point (impurities, missing atoms), line (dislocations) and planar (faults, cracks) defects at both the continuum level and the atomic level. This novel approach will be new to most engineers and it will appeal to physicists. There are exercises for the student to work through, with complete solutions free to course instructors from the OUP website.

Table of Contents:
1: Strain 2: Stress 3: Hooke's Law and Elastic Constants 4: The Green's Function in Linear Elasticity 5: Point Defects 6: Dislocations 7: Hybrid Models of Dislocations 8: The Force on a Defect 9: Cracks 10: Open Questions

About the Author :
Educated in materials science at the Universities of Oxford and Pennsylvania, Adrian P. Sutton has worked for more than 40 years on theory and simulation of defects in crystalline materials. He has published more than 230 papers on electronic, atomistic and continuum level modelling of defects. In 2005 he was appointed to a Chair in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London. In 2009 he established and led the renowned Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) on Theory and Simulation of Materials at Imperial College. This book is based in part on a course he gave in the CDT for 10 years. He was elected to the Royal Society in 2003.

Review :
Adrian Sutton's Physics of elasticity and crystal defects is a concise, modern and refreshing introduction to a topic that is key to all of materials science and engineering. It is a great textbook to teach from as well as for those who want to learn the material on their own. Sutton is a giant in the field... I am certain this book will be a classic. Superb... and written in an excellent, engaging style Sutton is an internationally respected expert in structural materials science and condensed matter physics, one of very few people to have such status in these two domains simultaneously. Sutton emphasizes the physical meaning behind the mathematical models he clearly introduces. The style is simple, didactic, and effective. The coverage of some of the Open Questions in Chapter 10 (e.g. electroplasticity) is entirely unique to this book. Although there are other relevant texts in this field, this book includes connections to atomic treatments of defects. These are timely additions, and provide new physical insights. Although the book contains much mathematics, it is essentially readable, and stimulating. This is an outstanding book. Students will appreciate the clarity of the arguments, including careful derivations of some important formulas for elasticity. The book is highly accessible, and provides the level of insight into the subject that you would rarely find in academic literature It is particularly significant that the author has made a clear connection between Physics and Elasticity and Defects in this book. There is an established element of tradition here, where L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz included Theory of Elasticity in their famous Course in Theoretical Physics. This new book by Adrian Sutton matches the Landau-Lifshitz book extremely well, providing new, modern insights into the phenomena, and matching the needs of contemporary generations of students and researchers. It is quite obvious that the majority of the content is material that the author has worked through from scratch, much of it original, and this is especially reflected in the problems, which are detailed and novel.