Offering a complete and uniform treatment of the most fundamental and essential topics in structural mechanics, this book presents a traditional subject in an updated and modernized way. It merges classical topics with ones that have taken shape more recently, such as duality. The book covers the mechanics of linear elastic solids, the theory of beam systems, and the phenomena of structural failure. A text for senior undergraduate and graduate students in structural engineering and architecture, it is also a valuable reference for practicing engineers and researchers.

Professor Alberto Carpinteri has been the Chair of Structural Mechanics at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy, since 1986. During this period, he has held different positions of responsibility, including head of the Department of Structural Engineering (1989-1995) and founding member and director of the Postgraduate School in Structural Engineering (1990-). He is the president of the International Congress on Fracture, ICF (2009-2013) and has been the President of the European Structural Integrity Society, ESIS (2002-2006) and the International Association of Fracture Mechanics for Concrete and Concrete Structures, IA-FraMCoS (2004-2007). He has been a member of the Congress Committee of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, IUTAM (2004-2012) and is a member of the Executive Board of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, SEM (2012-2014). Since 2012, he has been the editor-in-chief of the international journal Meccanica. Professor Carpinteri has received numerous honors and awards, among them the Robert L'Hermite Medal from RILEM (1982), the Griffith Medal from ESIS (2008), the Swedlow Memorial Lecture Award from ASTM (2011), and the Paul Paris Gold Medal from ICF (2013).

For more information, see Professor Carpinteri's profile at Politecnico di Torino.

1. Introduction 2. Geometry of Areas 3. Kinematics and Statics of Rigid Body Systems 4. Determination of Constraint Reactions 5. Internal Beam Reactions 6. Statically Determinate Beam Systems 7. Analysis of Strain and Stress 8. Theory of Elasticity 9. Saint Venant Problem 10. Beams and Plates in Flexure 11. Statically Indeterminate Beam Systems: Method of Forces 12. Energy Methods for the Solution of Beam Systems Appendices: A. Calculation of the Internal Reactions in a Circular Arch Subjected to a Radial Hydrostatic Load B. Calculation of the Internal Reactions in a Circular Arch Subjected to a Uniformly Distributed Vertical Load C. Anisotropic Material D. Heterogeneous Beam E. Heterogeneous Plate F. Finite Difference Method G. Torsion of Multiply Connected Thin-Walled Cross-Sections