This volume constitutes the Proceedings of the IUT AM Symposium on Mechanics of Granular and Porous Materials, held in Cambridge from 15th to 17th July 1996. The objectives were: 1. To review existing experimental results and practical phenomena on the flow and compaction of particulate media; 2. To review the current state of constitutive models, and their implementation for predicting the macroscopic response. 3. Identification of the shortcomings of existing models and procedures in understanding practical phenomena. The Symposium brought together the research communities of solid mechanics, materials science, geomechanics, chemical engineering and mathematics to review current knowledge of the flow and compaction of granular and porous media. The meeting emphasised the development and use of constitutive laws to model practical processes such as mixing, drainage and drying, compaction of metal and ceramic powders and soils, and instabilities associated with these processes. A common theme was to develop constitutive models from an understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms of deformation and fracture. It was particularly rewarding to find that the separate research communities came together during the meeting and came to a consensus as to the main mechanisms of deformation and failure of particulate and porous solids.
