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Review of
Mathematical Fundamentals

Introduction

 Common to use vectors and tensors to define and describe

physical laws such as mechanical properties

 Allows us to describe mechanical properties independent of

the selected reference (i.e. coordinate) system

 Some prior exposure to linear algebra and tensor analysis is

assumed

 Some of the mathematical principles that are used in

mechanics are reviewed here

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Introduction

 Scalars
 Represent a single magnitude in each point in space
 Vectors
 Line segments that are expressible in terms of components resolved on to
a three dimensional coordinate system
 Matrices
 Rectangular arrays of numbers
 Tensors
 Physical quantities that are associated with coordinates but which do not
depend on those coordinates
 Can be thought of as special forms of scalars, vectors or matrices that
represent physical properties

Examples

 Scalar Scalars are directionless numerical

 Mass, m quantities. 0th order tensors.

 Density, 𝜌
 Vector Vectors are directional quantities. 1st
order tensors that can be represented
 Displacement, 𝒖 as column or row matrices
 = 𝑢𝑥 𝑒𝑥 + 𝑢𝑦 𝑒𝑦 + 𝑢𝑧 𝑒𝑧
𝑢𝑥
 = 𝑢𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑢𝑥 𝑢𝑦 𝑢𝑧
𝑢𝑧
 Matrix Matrices are rectangular arrays of
𝜎𝑥𝑥 𝜎𝑥𝑦 𝜎𝑥𝑧 numbers. This matrix is 2nd order
tensor. 2nd order tensor relates two
 Stress, 𝜎𝑖𝑗 = 𝜎𝑦𝑥 𝜎𝑦𝑦 𝜎𝑦𝑧
vectors.
𝜎𝑧𝑥 𝜎𝑧𝑦 𝜎𝑥𝑥

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Examples

 Stiffness matrix = 𝑪 = 𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙

𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑧𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑧𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑥𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑦𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑧𝑦𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑥𝑧𝑦𝑥
𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑦𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑧𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑦𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑧𝑥 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑧𝑦 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑥𝑧 𝐶𝑦𝑥𝑦𝑥

4th order tensor, relates two 2nd order tensors

𝜎𝑖𝑗 = 𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝜀𝑘𝑙

Index Notation

 Used to represent entire sets of numbers, equations, elements or

components using single symbols with subscripts

𝐕 = 𝑉𝑗 = 𝑉1 𝑉2 𝑉3 Row matrix (row vector)

𝑈1
𝑼 = 𝑈𝑖 = 𝑈2 Column matrix (column vector)
𝑈3
𝑢11 𝑢12 𝑢13
𝑢𝑖𝑗 = 𝑢21 𝑢22 𝑢23 Matrix
𝑢31 𝑢32 𝑢33

 A symbol 𝑈𝑖𝑗𝑘…𝑛 with 𝑛 distinct subscripts (indices) represent 3𝑛 distinct

components

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Index Notation

 Generalise the subscripts

 For matrix such as 𝐴𝑖 or 𝐴𝑖𝑗
𝐴1 𝐴11 𝐴12 𝐴13
𝐴𝑖 = 𝐴2 𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴21 𝐴22 𝐴23
𝐴3 𝐴31 𝐴32 𝐴33

 The subscript 𝑖 represents the row entry

 The subscript j represents the column entry

 Applies to matrix notation

 Higher order tensors require a different treatment as they have more
than two subscripts

Transpose of a Matrix

𝐴𝑥𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑧 𝐴𝑥𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑥 𝐴𝑧𝑥

𝐴 = 𝐴𝑦𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑧 𝐴𝑇 = 𝐴𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑦 𝐴𝑧𝑦
𝐴𝑧𝑥 𝐴𝑧𝑦 𝐴𝑧𝑧 𝐴𝑥𝑧 𝐴𝑦𝑧 𝐴𝑧𝑧

𝐴𝑥𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑥
𝐴𝑥𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑧
𝐴= 𝐴𝑇 = 𝐴𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑦
𝐴𝑦𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑧
𝐴𝑥𝑧 𝐴𝑦𝑧

𝐴𝑥
𝐴 = 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑇 = 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑧
𝐴𝑧

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Matrix Algebra

 Vector / matrix equality, addition, subtraction are trivial

 Matrix addition and subtraction

𝐴1 ± 𝐵1 𝐴11 ± 𝐵11 𝐴12 ± 𝐵12 𝐴13 ± 𝐵13

𝐴𝑖 ± 𝐵𝑖 = 𝐴2 ± 𝐵2 𝐴𝑖𝑗 ± 𝐵𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴21 ± 𝐵21 𝐴22 ± 𝐵22 𝐴23 ± 𝐵23
𝐴3 ± 𝐵3 𝐴31 ± 𝐵31 𝐴32 ± 𝐵32 𝐴33 ± 𝐵33

 Multiplication by scalars is also trivial

𝜆𝐴1 𝜆𝐴11 𝜆𝐴12 𝜆𝐴13
𝜆𝐴𝑖 = 𝜆𝐴2 𝜆𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝜆𝐴21 𝜆𝐴22 𝜆𝐴23
𝜆𝐴3 𝜆𝐴31 𝜆𝐴32 𝜆𝐴33

where 𝜆 is a scalar

Matrix Multiplication

𝐵1
𝐴𝑖 𝐵𝑗 = 𝐴1 𝐴2 𝐴3 𝐵2 = 𝐴𝑇𝑖 𝐵𝑗 = 𝐴1 𝐵1 + 𝐴2 𝐵2 + 𝐴3 𝐵3
𝐵3
1x3 3x1 1x1
rows
columns

𝐴1 𝐴1 𝐵1 𝐴1 𝐵2 𝐴1 𝐵3
𝐴𝑖 𝐵𝑗 = 𝐴2 𝐵1 𝐵2 𝐵3 = 𝐴2 𝐵1 𝐴2 𝐵2 𝐴2 𝐵3
𝐴3 𝐴3 𝐵1 𝐴3 𝐵2 𝐴3 𝐵3
3x1 1x3 3x3

𝐴11 𝐴12 𝐵11 𝐵12 𝐴 𝐵 + 𝐴12 𝐵21 𝐴11 𝐵12 + 𝐴12 𝐵22
𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑖𝑗 = = 11 11
𝐴21 𝐴22 𝐵21 𝐵22 𝐴21 𝐵11 + 𝐴22 𝐵21 𝐴21 𝐵12 + 𝐴22 𝐵22
2x2 2x2 2x2

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Matrix Algebra

 All commutative, associative, and distributive laws are obeyed

𝐴𝑖 + 𝐵𝑖 = 𝐵𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖 Commutative law for addition

𝐴𝑖 + 𝐵𝑖 + 𝐶𝑖 = 𝐴𝑖 + 𝐵𝑖 + 𝐶𝑖 Associative law for addition

𝐴𝑖 𝐵𝑗𝑘 𝐶𝑙 = 𝐴𝑖 𝐵𝑗𝑘 𝐶𝑙 Associative law for multiplication

𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑘 = 𝐵𝑘 𝐴𝑖𝑗

𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑘 + 𝐶𝑘 = 𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑘 + 𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐶𝑘

etc.

General Rules

 Simple relations like 𝐴𝑖 = 𝐵𝑖 and 𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐵𝑖𝑗 implies that

𝐴1 = 𝐵1 , 𝐴2 = 𝐵2 , ….., 𝐴10 = 𝐵10 , 𝐴11 = 𝐵11 , …. etc.

 Relations like 𝐴𝑖 = 𝐵𝑗 and 𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐵𝑘𝑙 are ambiguous. They are to be

avoided because indices on each term are not the same

 In general, distinct subscripts on all individual terms in an equation

must match

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General Rules

 If a subscript appears twice in the same term or product of terms,

summation over that subscript from one to three is implied

𝐴𝑖𝑖 = 𝐴𝑖𝑖 = 𝐴11 + 𝐴22 + 𝐴33

𝑖=1
3

𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗 = 𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗 = 𝐴𝑖1 𝐵1 + 𝐴𝑖2 𝐵2 + 𝐴𝑖3 𝐵3

𝑗=1
3

𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗𝑘 = 𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗𝑘 = 𝐴𝑖1 𝐵1𝑘 + 𝐴𝑖2 𝐵2𝑘 + 𝐴𝑖3 𝐵3𝑘
𝑗=1

 Repeated subscripts are sometimes called dummy subscripts. The

other subscripts are free subscripts.

General Rules

 Consider following matrices

𝐴11 𝐴12 𝐴13 𝐵11 𝐵12 𝐵13

𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴21 𝐴22 𝐴23 𝐵𝑗𝑘 = 𝐵21 𝐵22 𝐵23
𝐴31 𝐴32 𝐴33 𝐵31 𝐵32 𝐵33

 How do we multiply 𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗𝑘 ?

 The dummy subscript is j
 Implies summation of that term
3

𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗𝑘 = 𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗𝑘 = 𝐴𝑖1 𝐵1𝑘 + 𝐴𝑖2 𝐵2𝑘 + 𝐴𝑖3 𝐵3𝑘
𝑗=1

 We must apply this to each entry in product matrix

 Result is a 3 x 3 matrix

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General Rules

j=1 j=2 j=3 k=1 k=2 k=3

i=1 𝐴11 𝐴12 𝐴13 j=1 𝐵11 𝐵12 𝐵13

i=2 𝐴21 𝐴22 𝐴23 j=2 𝐵21 𝐵22 𝐵23
i=3 𝐴31 𝐴32 𝐴33 j=3 𝐵31 𝐵32 𝐵33

𝐴11 𝐵11 + 𝐴12 𝐵21 + 𝐴13 𝐵31
𝐴21 𝐵11 + 𝐴22 𝐵21 + 𝐴23 𝐵31
𝐴31 𝐵11 + 𝐴32 𝐵21 + 𝐴33 𝐵31
𝐴𝑖𝑗 𝐵𝑗𝑘
=
𝐴11 𝐵12 + 𝐴12 𝐵22 + 𝐴13 𝐵32
𝐴21 𝐵12 + 𝐴22 𝐵22 + 𝐴23 𝐵32
𝐴31 𝐵12 + 𝐴32 𝐵22 + 𝐴33 𝐵32
𝐴11 𝐵13 + 𝐴12 𝐵23 + 𝐴13 𝐵33
𝐴21 𝐵13 + 𝐴22 𝐵23 + 𝐴23 𝐵33
𝐴31 𝐵13 + 𝐴32 𝐵23 + 𝐴33 𝐵33

General Rules

 For a square matrix, it can be shown that 𝐴11 𝐴12 𝐴13

𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴21 𝐴22 𝐴23
𝐴31 𝐴32 𝐴33
1 1
𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴 + 𝐴𝑗𝑖 + 𝐴𝑖𝑗 − 𝐴𝑗𝑖 = 𝐴 + 𝐴 𝑖𝑗
2 𝑖𝑗 2 𝑖𝑗

where 𝐴 𝑖𝑗 is symmetric and 𝐴 𝑖𝑗 is antisymmetric

 A matrix is symmetric if 𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴𝑗𝑖

 If 𝐴𝑖𝑗 is symmetric, there are only six independent components
 If 𝐴𝑗𝑖 is antisymmetric, it will have only three independent
components and its diagonal terms must be zero

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Kronecker Delta

 Defined as:
1 0 0
1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑖=𝑗 (𝑛𝑜 𝑠𝑢𝑚)
𝛿𝑖𝑗 = {0, 𝑖𝑓 𝑖≠𝑗 = 0 1 0 This is a unit matrix
0 0 1
 Properties of Kronecker Delta

𝛿𝑖𝑗 = 𝛿𝑗𝑖 Symmetric matrix

𝛿𝑖𝑖 = 𝛿11 + 𝛿22 + 𝛿33 = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3

𝛿𝑖𝑗 𝐴𝑗 = 𝐴𝑖 𝛿𝑖𝑗 𝐴𝑖 = 𝐴𝑗 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑓: (𝛿𝑖1 𝐴1 + 𝛿𝑖2 𝐴2 + 𝛿𝑖3 𝐴3 = 𝐴𝑖 )
𝛿𝑖𝑗 𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴𝑖𝑖
𝛿𝑖𝑗 𝛿𝑖𝑗 = 3

Kronecker Delta

 A matrix 𝑨 is orthogonal if 𝑨𝑇 𝑨 = 𝑰, where

1 0 0
𝐼= 0 1 0 = 𝛿𝑖𝑗
0 0 1

 Two vectors 𝑨 and 𝑩 represented as column matrices are

orthogonal if 𝑨𝑇 𝑩 = 𝐴 ∙ 𝐵 = 0

i.e. if the dot product of two vectors equals zero, then the two
vectors are perpendicular

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Permutation Symbol

 In three dimensions, the Levi-Civita symbol (third order alternating tensor)

is defined as

+1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 123

𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 = −1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 123
0, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒
 As a consequence
𝜀123 = 𝜀231 = 𝜀312 = 1; 𝜀321 = 𝜀132 = 𝜀213 = −1; 𝜀112 = 𝜀131 = 𝜀222 = ⋯ = 0
 There are 27 possible terms for the alternating symbol.
 3 = +1, 3 = -1, all others equal 0

𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝜀𝑖𝑚𝑛 = 𝛿𝑗𝑚 𝛿𝑘𝑛 − 𝛿𝑗𝑛 𝛿𝑘𝑚

𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑛 = 2𝛿𝑘𝑛
𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 = 6

Determinants

Can use
𝐴11 𝐴12 𝐴13 permutation
symbol to express
𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴21 𝐴22 𝐴23 = 𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝐴1𝑖 𝐴2𝑗 𝐴3𝑘 = 𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝐴𝑖1 𝐴𝑗2 𝐴𝑘3 in index notation
𝐴31 𝐴32 𝐴33

= 𝐴11 𝐴22 𝐴33 − 𝐴23𝐴32 − 𝐴12 𝐴21 𝐴33 − 𝐴23 𝐴31 + 𝐴13 𝐴21 𝐴32 − 𝐴22 𝐴31
= 𝐴11 𝐴22𝐴33 + 𝐴12 𝐴23𝐴31 + 𝐴13 𝐴21𝐴32 − 𝐴11 𝐴23𝐴32 − 𝐴12 𝐴21𝐴33 − 𝐴13 𝐴22 𝐴31

OR

𝐴11 𝐴12 𝐴13 𝐴11 𝐴12

𝑑𝑒𝑡 𝐴𝑖𝑗 = 𝐴21 𝐴22 𝐴23 𝐴21 𝐴22
𝐴31 𝐴32 𝐴33 𝐴31 𝐴32

= 𝐴11 𝐴22 𝐴33 + 𝐴12 𝐴23 𝐴31 + 𝐴13 𝐴21 𝐴32 − 𝐴13 𝐴22 𝐴31 − 𝐴11 𝐴23 𝐴32 − 𝐴12 𝐴21 𝐴33

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Cartesian Coordinates

 In mechanics, we generally refer

to Cartesian Coordinate system

 Basic unit vectors for this

coordinate system are
𝑒𝑖 = 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3

 As Cartesian coordinate systems

are orthogonal, all of the
coordinate axes are 90° apart

Vectors and Coordinates

 A vector is a line segment in physical sense that is referred to a

particular coordinate system
 Consider a vector 𝑽 and two coordinate
systems
 Unit vectors for the two coordinate vectors are
 𝑒𝑖 = 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3
 𝑒𝑖 = 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3
 Vector 𝑽 can be represented in terms of unit
vectors in any coordinate system
 𝑽 = 𝑒1 𝑉1 + 𝑒2 𝑉2 + 𝑒3 𝑉3
 𝑽 = 𝑒1 𝑉1 + 𝑒2 𝑉2 + 𝑒3 𝑉3
 𝑽 remains same but the components of
𝑽 depend on coordinate system

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Vectors and Coordinates

 Common to represent vectors in terms of components alone

𝑉 = 𝑉1 , 𝑉2 , 𝑉3 or 𝑉 = 𝑉1 , 𝑉2 , 𝑉3

 Vectors are often expressed as column or row matrices

𝑉1
Column Row vector
𝑉 = 𝑉𝑖 = 𝑉2 𝑉 = 𝑉𝑖 = 𝑉1 𝑉2 𝑉3
vector
𝑉3

 The length or magnitude of 𝑽 is given by

𝑽 = 𝑉12 + 𝑉22 + 𝑉32

Vectors and Coordinates

 Dot product (inner product, scalar product) 𝑊𝑗

𝑊1
𝑽 = 𝑉𝑖 = 𝑉1 𝑉2 𝑉3 𝑾 = 𝑊𝑗 = 𝑊2 𝜃
𝑊3
𝑉𝑖
𝑼 = 𝑽 ∙ 𝑾 = 𝑉𝑖 ∙ 𝑊𝑗 = 𝑉 𝑊 cos 𝜃 𝑈 is a scalar

𝑽 = 𝑉12 + 𝑉22 + 𝑉32 𝑾 = 𝑊12 + 𝑊22 + 𝑊32

 When 𝑉𝑖 ∙ 𝑊𝑗 > 0, 𝜃 is acute

 When 𝑉𝑖 ∙ 𝑊𝑗 = 0, 𝜃 = 90
 When 𝑉𝑖 ∙ 𝑊𝑗 < 0, 𝜃 is obtuse
 When 𝑉𝑖 ∙ 𝑊𝑗 = 1, 𝑉𝑖 and 𝑊𝑗 are parallel

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Vectors and Coordinates

 As Cartesian coordinate systems are

orthogonal, all of the coordinate
axes are 90° apart

 Thus
𝑒𝑖 ∙ 𝑒𝑗 = 0 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗
𝑒𝑖 ∙ 𝑒𝑗 = 1 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖 = 𝑗

 This means
𝑒𝑖 ∙ 𝑒𝑗 = 𝛿𝑖𝑗

Vectors and Coordinates

𝑊𝑘
 Cross product (outer product, vector product) 𝑉𝑗

𝑈1 𝑉1
𝑼 = 𝑈𝑖 = 𝑈2 𝑽 = 𝑉𝑗 = 𝑉2 𝜃
𝑈3 𝑉3
𝑒1 𝑒2 𝑒3 𝑈𝑖
𝑼 × 𝑽 = 𝑈𝑖 × 𝑉𝑗 = 𝑈 𝑉 sin 𝜃 𝑛 = 𝑈1 𝑈2 𝑈3 = 𝑊𝑘 = 𝑾
𝑉1 𝑉2 𝑉3

= 𝑒1 𝑈2 𝑉3 − 𝑈3 𝑉2 + 𝑒2 𝑈3 𝑉1 − 𝑈1 𝑉3 + 𝑒3 𝑈1 𝑉2 − 𝑈2 𝑉1
= 𝑒1 𝑊1 + 𝑒2 𝑊2 + 𝑒3 𝑊3

 Cross product is evaluated like a determinant

 In this case, 𝑾 is a vector that is perpendicular to 𝑼 and 𝑽

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Scalar and Vector Fields

 Many physical quantities vary from point to point and with

time in space (i.e. they are functions of spatial coordinates)
 We use the term field to define a particular region in space
and the value of the physical quantity in that region
 If the physical quantity is a scalar, we call it a scalar field
 Examples: Temperature at a point, gravitational force at an
altitude, etc.
 If the physical quantity is a vector, we call it a vector field
 Examples: Particle velocity, etc.
 We are often interested in derivatives of these fields (i.e.
changes to the fields)

Scalar and Vector Fields

 A scalar field is a function that gives us a single value of some

variable for every point in space
 Temperature function is an example of a scalar field. The term scalar
implies that temperature at a point is a number
 A vector field is a function that gives us a vector for every point in
space
 Vectors describe physical quantities such as velocity, momentum,
acceleration, force, that are associated with an object
 To describe a system which consists of a large number of objects (e.g.
moving water, snow, rain,…) we have to assign a vector to each
individual object
 A tensor field assigns a tensor to each point of a mathematical
space

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Calculus of Cartesian Tensors

 In mechanics, most of the variables used to describe

deformation are field variables

 They are functions that depend on spatial coordinates

 They can also have temporal variation

 Calculus of Cartesian tensor fields is used in mechanics to

describe things

Calculus of Cartesian Tensors

 Now consider the directional derivative of a scalar field function 𝑓 in

a direction 𝑠
𝑑𝑓 𝜕𝑓 𝑑𝑥 𝜕𝑓 𝑑𝑦 𝜕𝑓 𝑑𝑧
= + +
𝑑𝑠 𝜕𝑥 𝑑𝑠 𝜕𝑦 𝑑𝑠 𝜕𝑧 𝑑𝑠

 Thus we can write the directional derivative as

𝑑𝑓 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓
𝛻𝑓 = 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑓 = = 𝑒1 + 𝑒2 + 𝑒3
𝑑𝑠 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧

 where

𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
𝛻 = 𝐷𝑒𝑙 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 𝑒1 + 𝑒2 + 𝑒3
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧

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Calculus of Cartesian Tensors

 It is convenient to use comma notation to denote partial

differentiation
𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
𝐴,𝑖 = 𝐴 𝐴𝑖,𝑗 = 𝐴 𝐴𝑖𝑗,𝑘 = 𝐴
𝜕𝑥𝑖 𝜕𝑥𝑗 𝑖 𝜕𝑥𝑘 𝑖𝑗

 If the differentiation index is distinct, the rank of the tensor increases

by one
𝜕𝐴1 𝜕𝐴1 𝜕𝐴1
𝜕𝑥1 𝜕𝑥2 𝜕𝑥3
𝐴1 𝜕 𝜕𝐴2 𝜕𝐴2 𝜕𝐴2
𝐴𝑖 = 𝐴2 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑖,𝑗 =
𝐴3 𝜕𝑥𝑗 𝑖 𝜕𝑥1 𝜕𝑥2 𝜕𝑥3
𝜕𝐴3 𝜕𝐴3 𝜕𝐴3
𝜕𝑥1 𝜕𝑥2 𝜕𝑥3

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