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Foundations of Continuum Mechanics

By Prof. Gaurav Bhutani   |   IIT Mandi
Learners enrolled: 313   |  Exam registration: 32
ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course develops the mathematical and physical foundations of continuum mechanics, essential to understanding both solid and fluid mechanics. It emphasizes tensor algebra, stress and strain measures, conservation laws, and constitutive modelling, enabling a deep understanding of key continuum concepts. Designed as a foundational course, it equips students with the core concepts required for advanced courses such as elasticity, plasticity, advanced fluid mechanics, turbulence, and FEM. It also builds essential skills for computational mechanics, CFD, and FEA—key areas in aerospace, automotive, civil and materials industries. The focus is on conceptual clarity, mathematical rigor, problem-solving, and broad applicability across engineering disciplines.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Undergraduate and Early Postgraduate students of Mechanical Engineering / Civil Engineering / Biotechnology / Engineering Physics

PREREQUISITES: Undergraduate Mechanics (Mechanics 101), Undergraduate Mathematics (Calculus and linear algebra).

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: The following industry will find the course very useful: Aerospace, Automotive & Transportation, Oil & Gas, Mining, Energy, Construction, Semiconductors and Advanced Materials, Computational Mechanics & Software Companies, Biomechanics & Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, and Research Institutes.
Summary
Course Status : Ongoing
Course Type : Elective
Language for course content : English
Duration : 12 weeks
Category :
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Structural Analysis
  • Advanced Mechanics
  • Computational Mechanics
Credit Points : 3
Level : Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date : 19 Jan 2026
End Date : 10 Apr 2026
Enrollment Ends : 02 Feb 2026
Exam Registration Ends : 20 Feb 2026
Exam Date : 17 Apr 2026 IST
NCrF Level   : 4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


Page Visits



Course layout

Week 1: Introduction and mathematical foundations (Module 1): Cartesian tensors, indicial notation, summation rule, Kronecker delta.

Week 2: Mathematical foundations: permutation symbol, epsilon-delta identity, vector and tensor products.

Week 3: Mathematical foundations: matrices and determinants, tensor transformations, isotropy and invariance.

Week 4: Mathematical foundations: principal values and directions, tensor calculus, integral theorems.

Week 5: Stress principles (Module 2): body and surface forces, definition of the Cauchy stress tensor, equilibrium equations.

Week 6: Stress principles: stress transformation laws, principal stresses and directions, Stress maxima and minima, Mohr’s circle, plane stress, spherical and deviatoric stress components.

Week 7: Kinematics (Module 3): configurations, deformation and motion, material and spatial coordinates, Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions, material derivative.

Week 8: Kinematics: deformation gradient tensor, Lagrangian and Eulerian finite strain tensors, infinitesimal deformation theory and the infinitesimal strain tensor, normal and shear strain tensors, dilatation, and plane strain.

Week 9: Kinematics: differential displacement vector, infinitesimal rotation tensor, velocity gradient tensor, rate of deformation tensor, vorticity tensor, material derivatives of elements.

Week 10: Conservation laws (Module 4): (Reynolds) transport theorem, equation of the conservation of mass in Eulerian and Lagrangian forms, linear momentum principle, Piola-Kirchoff stress tensors, angular momentum principle.

Week 11: Constitutive modelling (Module 5): introduction and closure problem, 4th-order constitutive tensor, linear isotropic and anisotropic models for solids and fluids; non-linear constitutive models including hyperelasticity, plasticity, non-Newtonian fluid behaviour and viscoplasticity; time-dependent models such as viscoelasticity, creep, stress relaxation, thixotropy and rheopexy.

Week 12: Application of continuum mechanics: derivation of Navier-Stokes equation for linear and non-linear fluids; special cases; modelling and solving specific fluid dynamics problems using continuum mechanics principles.

Books and references

- Mase, G. Thomas, Ronald E. Smelser, and George E. Mase. Continuum mechanics for engineers. CRC press, 2009.
- Mase, George. Schaum's outline of continuum mechanics. McGraw Hill Professional, 1970.
- Bowen, Ray M. Introduction to continuum mechanics for engineers. Plenum Press, 1989.

Instructor bio

Prof. Gaurav Bhutani

IIT Mandi
Prof. Gaurav Bhutani is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at IIT Mandi, where he has been on the faculty since 2017. He received his PhD in Computational Physics from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. He holds a BTech-MTech (Dual Degree) in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, with a specialization in fluid mechanics. His research focuses on computational modelling of multiphase flows, which are complex systems involving the interaction of solids, liquids, and gases. He works on modelling the flow of snow avalanches in the Indian Himalayas and on industrial processes like froth flotation in mineral processing. He uses continuum mechanics and advanced simulation techniques to study the behaviour of complex flow systems.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: April 17, 2026 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Mandi .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team
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