Computational Mechanics 86

It is often said that these days there are too many conferences on general areas of computational mechanics. mechanics. and numer ical methods. vJhile this may be true. the his tory of scientific conferences is itself quite short. According to Abraham Pais (in "Subtle is the Lord ...• " Oxford University Press. 1982. p.80). the first international scientific conference ever held was the Karlsruhe Congress of Chemists. 3-5 September 1860 in Karlsruhe. Germany. There were 127 chemists in attendance. and the participants came from Austria. Belgium. France. Germany. Great Britain. Italy. Mexico. Poland. Russia. Spain. Sweden. and Switzerland. At the top of the agenda of the points to be discussed at this conference was the question: "Shall a difference be made between the expressions molecule and atom?" Pais goes on to note: "The conference did not at once succeed in bringing chemists closer together ... It is possible that the older men were offended by the impetuous behavior and imposing manner of the younger scientists" (see references cited in Pais' book). It may be observed that history. in general. repeats itself. However. at ICCM-86 in Tokyo. roughly 500 participants from both the West and the East were in attendance; there were only scholarly exchanges; the young tried to learn from the more experienced. and a spirit of international academic cooperation prevailed.

Mechanics of Discontinua is the first book to comprehensively tackle both the theory ofthis rapidly developing topic and the applications that span a broad field of scientific and engineering disciplines, from traditional engineering to physics of particulates, nano-technology and micro-flows. Authored by a leading researcher who has been at the cutting edge of discontinua simulation developments over the last 15 years, the book is organized into four parts: introductory knowledge, solvers, methods and applications. In the first chapter a short revision of Continuum Mechanics together with tensorial calculus is introduced. Also, a short introduction to the finite element method is given. The second part of the book introduces key aspects of the subject. These include a diverse field of applications, together with fundamental theoretical and algorithmic aspects common to all methods of Mechanics of Discontinua. The third part of the book proceeds with the most important computational and simulation methods including Discrete Element Methods, the Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method, Molecular Dynamics Methods, Fracture and Fragmentation solvers and Fluid Coupling. After these the reader is introduced to applications stretching from traditional engineering and industry (such as mining, oil industry, powders) to nanotechnology, medical and science.

AI!, in the earlier conferences (Tokyo, 1986; Atlanta, 1988, Melbourne, 1991; and Hong Kong, 1992) the response to the call for presentations at ICES-95 in Hawaii has been overwhelming. A very careful screening of the extended abstracts resulted in about 500 paper being accepted for presentation. Out of these, written versions of about 480 papers reached the conference secretariat in Atlanta in time for inclusion in these proceedings. The topics covered at ICES-95 range over the broadest spectrum of computational engineering science. The editors thank the international scientific committee, for their advice and encouragement in making ICES-95 a successful scientific event. Special thanks are expressed to the International Association for Boundary Elements Methods for hosting IABEM-95 in conjunction with ICES-95. The editors here express their deepest gratitude to Ms. Stacy Morgan for her careful handling of a myriad of details of ICES-95, often times under severe time constraints. The editors hope that the readers of this proceedings will find a kaleidoscopic view of computational engineering in the year 1995, as practiced in various parts of the world. Satya N. Atluri Atlanta, Georgia, USA Genki Yagawa Tokyo,Japan Thomas A. Cruse Nashville, TN, USA Organizing Committee Professor Genki Yagawa, University of Tokyo, Japan, Chair Professor Satya Atluri, Georgia Institute of Technology, U.S.A.

The aim of this Conference was to become a forum for discussion of both academic and industrial research in those areas of computational engineering science and mechanics which involve and enrich the rational application of computers, numerical methods, and mechanics, in modern technology. The papers presented at this Conference cover the following topics: Solid and Structural Mechanics, Constitutive Modelling, Inelastic and Finite Deformation Response, Transient Analysis, Structural Control and Optimization, Fracture Mechanics and Structural Integrity, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Compressible and Incompressible Flow, Aerodynamics, Transport Phenomena, Heat Transfer and Solidification, Electromagnetic Field, Related Soil Mechanics and MHD, Modern Variational Methods, Biomechanics, and Off-Shore-Structural Mechanics.

It is often said that these days there are too many conferences on general areas of computational mechanics. mechanics. and numer ical methods. vJhile this may be true. the his tory of scientific conferences is itself quite short. According to Abraham Pais (in "Subtle is the Lord ...• " Oxford University Press. 1982. p.80). the first international scientific conference ever held was the Karlsruhe Congress of Chemists. 3-5 September 1860 in Karlsruhe. Germany. There were 127 chemists in attendance. and the participants came from Austria. Belgium. France. Germany. Great Britain. Italy. Mexico. Poland. Russia. Spain. Sweden. and Switzerland. At the top of the agenda of the points to be discussed at this conference was the question: "Shall a difference be made between the expressions molecule and atom?" Pais goes on to note: "The conference did not at once succeed in bringing chemists closer together ... It is possible that the older men were offended by the impetuous behavior and imposing manner of the younger scientists" (see references cited in Pais' book). It may be observed that history. in general. repeats itself. However. at ICCM-86 in Tokyo. roughly 500 participants from both the West and the East were in attendance; there were only scholarly exchanges; the young tried to learn from the more experienced. and a spirit of international academic cooperation prevailed.