Developments In Thin Walled Structures 3

This book covers the growing interest in weight and cost-conscious design of structures across a range of engineering applications. It discusses linear and sheet structural components, and is concerned with the development of a powerful approach to the analysis of shell mechanics.

Thin-plated structures are used extensively in building construction, automobile, aircraft, shipbuilding and other industries because of a number of favourable factors such as high strength-weight ratio, development of new materials and processes and the availability of efficient analytical methods. This class of structure is made by joining thin plates together at their edges and they rely for their rigidity and strength upon the tremendous stiffness and load-carrying capacity of the flat plates from which they are made. Many of the problems encountered in these structures arise because of the effects of local buckling. The knowledge of various facets of this phenomenon has increased dramatically since the 1960s. Problem areas which were hitherto either too complex for rigorous analysis or whose subtleties were not fully realized have in these years been subjected to intensive study. Great advances have been made in the areas of inelastic buckling. The growth in use of lightweight strong materials, such as fibre-reinforced plastics has also been a contributory factor towards the need for advances in the knowledge of the far post-buckling range. The conference is a sequel to the international conference organised by the University of Strathclyde in December 1996 and this international gathering will provide the opportunity for discussion of recent developments and trends in design of thin-walled structures.

This book is intended primarily as a teaching text, as well as a reference for individual study in the behavior of thin walled structural components. Such structures are widely used in the engineering profession for spacecraft, missiles, aircraft, land-based vehicles, ground structures, ocean craft, underwater vessels and structures, pressure vessels, piping, chemical processing equipment, modern housing, etc. It presupposes that the reader has already completed one basic course in the mechanics or strength of materials. It can be used for both undergraduate and graduate courses. Since beams (columns, rods), plates and shells comprise components of so many of these modern structures, it is necessary for engineers to have a working knowledge of their behavior when these structures are subjected to static, dynamic (vibration and shock) and environmental loads. Since this text is intended for both teaching and self-study, it stresses fundamental behavior and techniques of solution. It is not an encyclopedia of all research or design data, but provides the reader the wherewithal to read and study the voluminous literature. Chapter 1 introduces the three-dimensional equations oflinear elasticity, deriving them to the extent necessary to treat the following material. Chapter 2 presents, in a concise way, the basic assumptions and derives the governing equations for classical Bernoulli-Euler beams and plates in a manner that is clearly understood.

Stability and Vibrations of Thin-Walled Composite Structures presents engineering and academic knowledge on the stability (buckling and post buckling) and vibrations of thin walled composite structures like columns, plates, and stringer stiffened plates and shells, which form the basic structures of the aeronautical and space sectors. Currently, this knowledge is dispersed in several books and manuscripts, covering all aspects of composite materials. The book enables both engineers and academics to locate valuable, up-to-date knowledge on buckling and vibrations, be it analytical or experimental, and use it for calculations or comparisons. The book is also useful as a textbook for advanced-level graduate courses. Presents a unified, systematic, detailed and comprehensive overview of the topic Contains contributions from leading experts in the field Includes a dedicated section on testing and experimental results

This volume contains the papers presented at the Third International Conference on Thin-Walled Structures, Cracow, Poland on June 5-7, 2001. There has been a substantial growth in knowledge in the field of Thin-Walled Structures over the past few decades. Lightweight structures are in widespread use in the Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical, Automobile, Chemical and Offshore Engineering fields. The development of new processes, new methods of connections, new materials has gone hand-in-hand with the evolution of advanced analytical methods suitable for dealing with the increasing complexity of the design work involved in ensuring safety and confidence in the finished products. Of particular importance with regard to the analytical process is the growth in use of the finite element method. This method, about 40 years ago, was confined to rather specialist use, mainly in the aeronautical field, because of its requirements for substantial calculation capacity. The development over recent years of extremely powerful microcomputers has ensured that the application of the finite element method is now possible for problems in all fields of engineering, and a variety of finite element packages have been developed to enhance the ease of use and the availability of the method in the engineering design process.

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.