This book presents theories of deformable elastic strings and rods and their application to
broad classes of problems. Readers will gain insights into the formulation and analysis of
models for mechanical and biological systems. Emphasis is placed on how the balance laws
interplay with constitutive relations to form a set of governing equations. For certain classes
of problems it is shown how a balance of material momentum can play a key role in forming the
equations of motion. The first half of the book is devoted to the purely mechanical theory of a
string and its applications. The second half of the book is devoted to rod theories including
Euler's theory of the elastica Kirchhoff 's theory of an elastic rod and a range of Cosserat
rod theories. A variety of classic and recent applications of these rod theories are examined.
Two supplemental chapters the first on continuum mechanics of three-dimensional continua and
the second on methods from variational calculus areincluded to provide relevant background for
students.This book is suited for graduate-level courses on the dynamics of nonlinearly elastic
rods and strings.
