Physics of Elasticity and Crystal Defects 2nd Edition

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.

Adrian P. Sutton, Emeritus Professor, Department of Physics, Imperial College London. Now self-employed as an author, lecturer and consultant

Educated in materials science at the Universities of Oxford and Pennsylvania, Adrian 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.