Representation of material elements and geometry of substructural interactions

This paper collects some characteristic aspects of the general model-building framework of the mechanics of complex bodies, that are bodies in which the material substructure influences prominently the gross behavior through interactions conjugated with substructural changes. Throughout I review critically some results already published in [4], [10], [11] and yet unpublished [12], [13], and add critical remarks. The emphasis is on issues that are foundational in nature: the geometrical description of the material elements, their energetic characterization, the representation of interactions, conditions for the existence of ground states in conservative setting.