The procedure followed in constructing models for generalized continua is
revisited. It is shown that the microforce balance equations required for the
description of generalized continua are not in fact expressions of the balance
of physical quantities, but consequences of the regularity assumed for the
systems of contact actions. In the proposed approach the law of action and
reaction, which in classical continuum mechanics is a consequence of Euler’s
balance laws, recovers the status of a basic principle as held in Newtonian
mechanics. Some examples of generalized continua taken from the literature are
discussed.
Dedicated to the memory of Luiz-Carlos
Martins.
Keywords
foundations of continuum mechanics, virtual power,
generalized continua, microstructure
