The derivation and understanding of Partial Differential Equations relies heavily on the fundamental knowledge of the first years of scientific education, i.e., higher mathematics, physics, materials science, applied mechanics, design, and programming skills. Thus, it is a challenging topic for prospective engineers and scientists.

This volume provides a compact overview on the classical Partial Differential Equations of structural members in mechanics. It offers a formal way to uniformly describe these equations. All derivations follow a common approach: the three fundamental equations of continuum mechanics, i.e., the kinematics equation, the constitutive equation, and the equilibrium equation, are combined to construct the partial differential equations. 

Andreas Öchsner is a Full Professor of Lightweight Design and Structural Simulation at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Germany. After completing his Dipl.-Ing. degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Stuttgart (1997), he served as a research and teaching assistant at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg from 1997 to 2003 while pursuing his Doctor of Engineering Sciences (Dr.-Ing.) degree. From 2003 to 2006, he was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Head of the Cellular Metals Group affiliated with the University of Aveiro, Portugal. He spent seven years (2007–2013) as a Full Professor at the Department of Applied Mechanics, Technical University of Malaysia, where he was also Head of the Advanced Materials and Structure Lab. From 2014 to 2017 he was a Full Professor at the School of Engineering, Griffith University, Australia and Leader of the Mechanical Engineering Program (Head of Discipline and Program Director).