Illustrating the important aspects of tensor calculus, and highlighting its most practical features, Physical Components of Tensors presents an authoritative and complete explanation of tensor calculus that is based on transformations of bases of vector spaces rather than on transformations of coordinates. Written with graduate students, professors, and researchers in the areas of elasticity and shell theories in mind, this text focuses on the physical and nonholonomic components of tensors and applies them to the theories. It establishes a theory of physical and anholonomic components of tensors and applies the theory of dimensional analysis to tensors and (anholonomic) connections. This theory shows the relationship and compatibility among several existing definitions of physical components of tensors when referred to nonorthogonal coordinates. The book assumes a basic knowledge of linear algebra and elementary calculus, but revisits these subjects and introduces the mathematical backgrounds for the theory in the first three chapters. In addition, all field equations are also given in physical components as well.

Comprised of five chapters, this noteworthy text: