Physics of Elasticity and Crystal Defects: 2nd Edition(6 Oxford Series on Materials Modelling)

Properties of crystalline materials are almost always governed by the defects within them. The ability to shape metals and alloys into girders, furniture, automobiles and medical prostheses stems from the generation, motion and interaction of these defects. Crystal defects are also the agents of chemical changes within crystals, enabling mass transport by diffusion and changes of phase. The distortion of the crystal created by a defect enables it to interact with other defects over distances much greater than the atomic scale. The theory of elasticity is used to describe these interactions. Physics of Elasticity and Crystal Defects, 2nd Edition is an introduction to the theory of elasticity and its application to point defects, dislocations, grain boundaries, inclusions, and cracks. A unique feature of the book is the treatment of the relationship between the atomic structures of defects and their elastic fields. Another unique feature is the last chapter which describes five technologically important areas requiring further fundamental research, with suggestions for possible PhD projects. There are exercises for the student to check their understanding as they work through each chapter with detailed solutions. There are problems set at the end of each chapter, also with detailed solutions. In this second edition the treatment of the Eshelby inclusion has been expanded into a chapter of its own, with complete self-contained derivations of the elastic fields inside and outside the inclusion. This is a textbook for postgraduate students in physics, engineering and materials science. Even students and professionals with some knowledge of elasticity and defects will almost certainly find much that is new to them in this book.

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: Multiscale models of dislocations 8: The ellipsoidal inclusion 9: The force on a defect 10: Cracks 11: Open questions

About the Author :
Adrian Sutton is a materials scientist and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London. This book is based in part on a postgraduate course he taught for ten years at the Centre for Doctoral Training on Theory and Simulation of Materials, which he established and led at Imperial.

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 become 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. 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.