Numerik 3

This introductory text is based on lectures from a multi-semester series on 'Numerical Mathematics' that the author has delivered over a period of 25 years at the University of Heidelberg. The present fourth part is dedicated to problems in continuum mechanics, specifically structural and fluid mechanics, and their numerical solutions using finite element methods. Both theoretical mathematical and practical aspects are taken into account. As a foundation for a proper numerical approximation, the mathematical models are systematically derived from fundamental physical postulates. Understanding the content requires only the knowledge typically provided in introductory courses on analysis and linear algebra, in addition to the material from the preceding volumes 'Numerics 0 (Introduction to Numerical Mathematics)', 'Numerics 1 (Numerics of Ordinary Differential Equations)', and 'Numerics 2 (Numerics of Partial Differential Equations)'.