- Docente: Maria Elina Belardinelli
- Credits: 6
- SSD: GEO/10
- Language: Italian
- Moduli: Maria Elina Belardinelli (Modulo 1) Maurizio Bonafede (Modulo 2)
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2)
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Physics of the Earth System (cod. 8626)
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student will possess a solid background in continuum mechanics, the basic concepts of tensor algebra, the main properties of the strain and stress tensors and the constitutive relationships of elastic materials, their use to describe elastic waves, the state of stress within the Earth, faulting and intrusion processes. In particular, the student will be able - to distinguish and characterize the stress regimes present in different regions of the Earth - to solve 2-D dislocation problems and problems of fracture mechanics.
Course contents
Mechanics of continuum media. Stress and strain. Elastic materials. Conservation laws. Equations of motion (Cauchy-Navier and Navier-Stokes). Elastic waves. Stress in the Earth, theories of faulting.
Elastic behaviour of realistic materials. Potentials in the theory of elasticity, strain potential, the Airy stress function, the Galerkin vector, the Love strain function. Elastic problems in a half-space with free surface.
Theory of elastic dislocations, the Cauchy integral equation: the elliptic crack, the stress intensity factor and the fracture criteria.
Darcy's law and poroelasticity.Readings/Bibliography
Lecture notes of prof. Maurizio Bonafede
Teaching methods
Classroom lectures and tutorials
Assessment methods
Oral examination: typically 3 questions are proposed to assess the
student's theoretical knowledge of the Mechanics of elastic solids
and its application to the study of the interior of the Earth. The
candidate is likely to be requested both to prove the main
theoretical results and to estimate some of the physical parameters
of the Earth interior.
Office hours
See the website of Maria Elina Belardinelli
See the website of Maurizio Bonafede