Mechanical engineering, an engineering discipline born of the needs of the Industrial Revolution, is once again asked to do its substantial share in the call for industrial renewal. The general call is urgent as we face the profound issues of productivity and competitiveness that require engineering solutions, among others. The Mechanical Engineering Series is a new series, featuring graduate texts and research monographs, intended to address the need for information in contemporary areas of mechanical engineering. The series is conceived as a comprehensive one that will cover a broad range of concentrations important to mechanical engineering graduate education and research. We are fortunate to have a distinguished roster of consulting editors, each an expert in one of the areas of concentration. The names of the consult ing editors are listed on page vi. The areas of concentration are applied mechanics, biomechanics, computational mechanics, dynamic systems and control, energetics, mechanics of materials, processing, thermal science, and tribology. We are pleased to present Nonlinear Analysis of Thin-Walled Structures by James F. Doyle. Austin, Texas Frederick F. Ling Preface This book is concerned with the challenging subject of the nonlinear static, dynamic, and stability analyses of thin-walled structures. It carries on from where Static and Dynamic Analysis of Structures, published by Kluwer 1991, left off; that book concentrated on frames and linear analysis, while the present book is focused on plated structures, nonlinear analysis, and a greater emphasis on stability analysis.

This book presents a hybrid approach to the mechanics of thin bodies. Classical theories of rods, plates and shells with constrained shear are based on asymptotic splitting of the equations and boundary conditions of three-dimensional elasticity. The asymptotic solutions become accurate as the thickness decreases, and the three-dimensional fields of stresses and displacements can be determined. The analysis includes practically important effects of electromechanical coupling and material inhomogeneity. The extension to the geometrically nonlinear range uses the direct approach based on the principle of virtual work. Vibrations and buckling of pre-stressed structures are studied with the help of linearized incremental formulations, and direct tensor calculus rounds out the list of analytical techniques used throughout the book. A novel theory of thin-walled rods of open profile is subsequently developed from the models of rods and shells, and traditionally applied equations are proven to be asymptotically exact. The influence of pre-stresses on the torsional stiffness is shown to be crucial for buckling analysis. Novel finite element schemes for classical rod and shell structures are presented with a comprehensive discussion regarding the theoretical basis, computational aspects and implementation details. Analytical conclusions and closed-form solutions of particular problems are validated against numerical results. The majority of the simulations were performed in the Wolfram Mathematica environment, and the compact source code is provided as a substantial and integral part of the book.

This book focuses on nonlinear finite element analysis of thin-walled smart structures integrated with piezoelectric materials. Two types of nonlinear phenomena are presented in the book, namely geometrical nonlinearity and material nonlinearity. Geometrical nonlinearity mainly results from large deformations and large rotations of structures. The book discusses various geometrically nonlinear theories including von Kármán type nonlinear theory, moderate rotation nonlinear theory, fully geometrically nonlinear theory with moderate rotations and large rotation nonlinear theory. The material nonlinearity mainly considered in this book is electroelastic coupled nonlinearity resulting from large driving electric field. This book will be a good reference for students and researchers in the field of structural mechanics.

This book describes current developments in finite element analysis and the design of certain types of thin-walled structures. The first three chapters lay the foundations for the development and use of finite elements for thin-walled structures, look at finite elements packages and discuss data input and mesh arrangements. The final four chapters use the finite element method to assist in the solution of thin-walled structure problems. Some of the problems solved include; water and air inflated structures; axisymmetric thin shells; ship structures and offshore structures. This book will be an interest to design engineers, researchers and postgraduates.

Thin-walled structures are designed with advanced numerical analysis techniques and constructed using sophisticated fabrication processes. There are, however, a number of factors that may result in a structure that is not exactly coincident with what was considered during the design calculations. These features may be associated with changes in the properties of the structure, in the geometry, and many others. But even small changes in the structure may sometimes produce significant changes in the response. The present work is intended to introduce professionals and researchers to the effects of imperfections on the stresses in thin-walled structures. The main idea behind the presentation is that small imperfections may introduce changes in the stresses that are nearly equal to the stresses due to the loads. The book is organized into two main parts. The first part (Chapters 1 to 6) covers the techniques for analyzing imperfections. In the second part the emphasis is on applications, which at present may be found scattered throughout many scientific and professional journals. More practical aspects of imperfections may be found in Chapter 12. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with finite element techniques, and with the basics of shell structures.