ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 established the rudiments of the continuum theory of solids. Every solid body is idealized as a mathematical continuum field that can be characterized by a handful of elastic constants and other thermodynamic parameters. Elementary concepts of deformation and stress were established, leading to a collection of field equations that describe the thermomechanical state of a solid body under a wide variety of loading conditions. To deal with problems of adhesion, however, there has to be a way of dealing with the problem that solid bodies come apart by a variety of processes, including delamination of separate material layers or direct fracture within the bulk of the separate materials. From the point of view of fracture mechanics, however, the cracking of the bulk material and the delamination of two different material layers are considered to be different aspects of the same thing, namely, the sundering of the body because of an excessive loading condition.
