Mechanics of Microstructured Solids 2

Abstract

ForwordThis second volume of the series Lecture Notes in Applied and Computational Mechanics is the second part of the compendium of reviewed articles presented at the 11th EUROMECH-MECAMAT conference entitled "Mechanics of microstructured solids: cellular materials, fibre reinforced solids and soft tissues", which took place in Torino (Italy) in March 10-14, 2008, at the Museo Regional delle Scienze. This EUROMECH-MECAMAT conference was jointly organized by the Dipartimento di Matematica dell'Università di Torino, Italy and the INPL Institute (LEMTA, Nancy-Université, France). Prof. Franco Pastrone and Prof. Jean-François Ganghoffer were the co-chairmen.The conference brought together 50 scientists from 11 European countries, and was aimed at defining the current state of the art in the growing field of cellular and fibrous materials in Europe. Participants had interests in the constitutive models of micro-structured solids, non-linear wave propagation, setting up of models and identification of fibre reinforced solids, and soft tissue behaviour in a biomechanical context.The conference covered most of the mechanical and material aspects, grouped in the following four sessions:• Fibre reinforced materials; • Soft biological tissues;• Generalized continua: models and materials;• Non-linear wave propagation.The high quality talks showed a good balance between modelling and material aspects. An important part of the colloquium, with 12 presentations, was devoted to various aspects of the biomechanics of soft tissues, such as cell adhesion, constitutive models of soft tissues (brain; arteries), or models of blood flow.Beyond the scientific reports and the poster presentations, many informal exchanges were possible mainly during the coffee breaks and the lunches, according to the scope and the spirit of Euromech Colloquia and Conferences. Surely the meeting stimulated current researches and often the discussions were lively, informal and penetrating.