Analysis of Skeletal Structural Systems in the Elastic and Elastic-Plastic Range (Developments in Civil Engineering, 20)

The purpose of this book is to provide a smooth transition from linear elasticity through the nonlinear behaviour induced by unilateral constraints to full-scale plasticity. It presents applications of Mathematical Programming to nonlinear static analysis of skeletal structures (trusses, frames, grillages etc.). It is demonstrated that under the assumption of small displacements, a broad class of structural analysis problems exhibit the same internal structure. Such is the case with elastic analysis in the presence of unilateral supports or tension-only members, elastic-plastic analysis in both holonomic and non-holonomic formulations and, finally, ultimate load analysis. Throughout the book a clear and uniform methodology of presentation is used. First a complete set of governing relations is derived for a particular problem. Then that set is shown to be equivalent to a certain minimax problem (the saddle point problem), that in turn can be replaced by a pair of constrained extremum problems (dual MP-problems). Thus the complementary energy principles are established, furnishing the basis for the development of methods of numerical solution.