A Continuum Approach to Introductory Biomechanics

An introduction to biomechanics based on a continuum mechanics approach is described. This approach introduces a spectrum of material behavior that has Hookean solids at one extreme, and Newtonian fluids at the other, with many interesting combinations such as biomaterials in between. By building progressively from one-dimensional to higher dimension formulations, this approach makes continuum concepts such as the Cartesian stress tensor accessible to early undergraduate students. From this gradual development of ideas, with many illustrative case studies interspersed, students develop both physical intuition for how bioengineering materials behave, and the mathematics used to describe this behavior.