This course introduces students to the mathematical foundation and rock mechanics background needed to understand the deformation behaviour of the crust and upper mantle at the macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic scales. 

Topics include:
Part 1 (Spakman 50%):
-Stress and deformation: mathematical basis, tensorial description, equilibrium conditions, material derivatives.
-Conservation laws: mass balance (continuity equation), momentum conservation.
-Intro to constitutive equations; linear elasticity for isotropic media, elasto-dynamic equation for seismic waves.
-Ideal fluids, Euler & Bernouilli equations, linear viscosity,  Navier-Stokes equation,  dimensionless numbers.
-Idealised visco-elastic behavior and models (e.g. Maxwell and Kelvin bodies).
Part 2 (Spiers 50%):
-Rheology and deformation processes in rocks - rock behavior in nature and experiment,  relationship with continuum mechanics.
-Elastic behaviour of rock: atomic scale basis, elastic constants, iso- vs. anisotropic behaviour,  poroelasticity of reservoir rocks.
-Brittle/frictional behaviour: fracture, faulting and mechanical effects of pore fluid pressure.
-Ductile Deformation: crystal defects, plastic and diffusional flow, constitutive equations, deformation maps, recrystallization.-Mechanical behaviour of the crust and upper mantle: lithosphere strength profiles for continental, oceanic and fault zone scenarios.

Aims:
The course is offered as a free choice in the “profileringsruimte” in Year 3 of the Bachelor Earth Sciences, but can also be chosen in Year 2. It is aimed at students interested in specialising in structural geology, geophysics or Earth materials (i.e. in obtaining a Solid Earth signature in their study), but will also be valuable to those interested in transport, flow or rock properties in the context of geochemistry, sedimentology, hydrology, meteorology or oceanography. 

By the end of the course, students will have acquired:
• A basis in the mechanics of continuous media (fluids, solids), including the fundamentals of stress and strain, and the laws of conservation of mass and momentum.
• An understanding of how the mechanical behaviour of materials can be specified phenomenologically in terms of stress-strain(rate) relations or constitutive equations, and how these can be used to describe elastic deformation,  viscous flow and solid state flow.
• A quantitative understanding of the mechanical behaviour (constitutive equations and failure criteria) of real rock materials in the crust and mantle, and of the processes that control this behaviour.
• The ability to attach physical meaning to geological structures and to formulate hypotheses about the responsible processes.
• The ability to apply the principles learned to modelling simple problems in tectonics, geodynamics and crustal geomechanics (e.g. enhanced hydrocarbons production and CO2 storage), and to report (team) results in a systematic manner.

Grading:
Mid term exam Spakman (Continuum 50%) + full term exam Spiers (Rheology 50%) = 100% of final grade (both parts count equally towards the final grade).
Practicals/werkcolleges/homework: Continuously assessed on a pass/fail basis.
All Practicals/wekcolleges and homework assignments must be completed with a “pass” to complete the course.

The pass grade for the course is 5.5 out of 10, with all assignments completed.  Grades between 5.50 and 5.99 are rounded up to 6.0.  Grades between 5.0 and 5.49 are rounded down to 5.0.  The right to a repair examination is granted if the final grade lies between 4.0 and 5.0 and if the student has completed and obtained a pass for all assignments. Repair exams may address Part 1 (Continuum), Part 2 (Rheology), or both parts if necessary.  The result will be expressed as a pass (grade = 6.0) or a fail.  Failure in the repair stage implies redoing the course in the following academic year.