On the Geometry and Kinematics of Smoothly Distributed and Singular   Defects
  A continuum mechanical framework for the description of the geometry and kinematics of defects in material structure is proposed. The setting applies to a body manifold of any dimension which is devoid of a Riemannian or a parallelism structure. In addition, both continuous distributions of defects as well as singular distributions are encompassed by the theory. In the general case, the material structure is specified by a de Rham current $T$ and the associated defects are given by its boundary. For a motion of defects associated with a family of diffeomorphisms of a material body, it is shown that the rate of change of the distribution of defects is given by the dual of the Lie derivative operator. 
Marcelo Epstein and Reuven Segev
math-ph math.MP