Mechanics of amorphous solids-identification and constitutive modelling

Both polymers and metals can be in an organised crystalline or amorphous glassy state, where for polymers usually at least a part of the structure is amorphous and metals are in a glassy state only when processed under special conditions. At the 15th European Mechanics of Materials Conference in September 2016 in Brussels, Belgium, a session focussing on the mechanical properties of amorphous or partly amorphous solid materials was organised, attempting to bridge descriptions found for metallic glasses and polymers, which share some common features, such as a rate- and temperature-dependent response, being prone to strain localisation in the form of shear bands, the occurrence of damage by cavitation, etc.