Many engineering problems can be solved using a linear approximation. In the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) the set of equations, describing the structural behaviour is then linear K d = F (1.1) In this matrix equation, K is the stiffness matrix of the structure, d is the nodal displacements vector and F is the external nodal force vector. Characteristics of linear problems is that the displacements are proportional to the loads, the stiffness of the structure is independent on the value of the load level. Though behaviour of real structures is nonlinear, e.g. displacements are not proportional to the loads; nonlinearities are usually unimportant and may be neglected in most practical problems.

Nonlinear Analysis of Structures presents a complete evaluation of the nonlinear static and dynamic behavior of beams, rods, plates, trusses, frames, mechanisms, stiffened structures, sandwich plates, and shells. These elements are important components in a wide variety of structures and vehicles such as spacecraft and missiles, underwater vessels and structures, and modern housing. Today's engineers and designers must understand these elements and their behavior when they are subjected to various types of loads. Coverage includes the various types of nonlinearities, stress-strain relations and the development of nonlinear governing equations derived from nonlinear elastic theory. This complete guide includes both mathematical treatment and real-world applications, with a wealth of problems and examples to support the text. Special topics include a useful and informative chapter on nonlinear analysis of composite structures, and another on recent developments in symbolic computation. Designed for both self-study and classroom instruction, Nonlinear Analysis of Structures is also an authoritative reference for practicing engineers and scientists. One of the world's leaders in the study of nonlinear structural analysis, Professor Sathyamoorthy has made significant research contributions to the field of nonlinear mechanics for twenty-seven years. His foremost contribution to date has been the development of a unique transverse shear deformation theory for plates undergoing large amplitude vibrations and the examination of multiple mode solutions for plates. In addition to his notable research, Professor Sathyamoorthy has also developed and taught courses in the field at universities in India, Canada, and the United States.

The transformation of vibrations into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric devices is an exciting and rapidly developing area of research with a widening range of applications constantly materialising. With Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, world-leading researchers provide a timely and comprehensive coverage of the electromechanical modelling and applications of piezoelectric energy harvesters. They present principal modelling approaches, synthesizing fundamental material related to mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and materials engineering disciplines for vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting provides the first comprehensive treatment of distributed-parameter electromechanical modelling for piezoelectric energy harvesting with extensive case studies including experimental validations, and is the first book to address modelling of various forms of excitation in piezoelectric energy harvesting, ranging from airflow excitation to moving loads, thus ensuring its relevance to engineers in fields as disparate as aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Coverage includes: Analytical and approximate analytical distributed-parameter electromechanical models with illustrative theoretical case studies as well as extensive experimental validations Several problems of piezoelectric energy harvesting ranging from simple harmonic excitation to random vibrations Details of introducing and modelling piezoelectric coupling for various problems Modelling and exploiting nonlinear dynamics for performance enhancement, supported with experimental verifications Applications ranging from moving load excitation of slender bridges to airflow excitation of aeroelastic sections A review of standard nonlinear energy harvesting circuits with modelling aspects.

As is known, classical theories of vibration of the most fre quently encountered structural elements (e. g. , beams, plates and shells) disregard the effects of the shear deformation and rotary inertia. Refined theories, with these effects taken into account, have been pioneered by Bresse, Lord Rayleigh, Timoshenko, Eric Reissner, Mindlin and others. These refined theories have been fruitfully applied in recent decades in both theoretical and prac tical solid mechanics problems. The European Mechanics Committee approved holding EURO~illCH Colloquium 219 on "Refined Dynamical Theories of Beams, Plates and Shells and Their Applications" for reviewing the recent devel opments, providing guidelines for future investigations and presenting a forum for current work of younger researchers. The Colloquium was held during September 23 - 26, 1986, at the Uni versitat-Gesamthochschule Kassel, in the city of Kassel, Federal Republic of Germany. 45 Representatives of academia and industry, from nine European countries, as well as from Israel, USA and India participated in this Colloquium. IV 36 lectures were presented during the five sessions: Session A: Theory of Vibrations of Plates and Shells Session B: Various Approaches for Dynamical Problems of Beams Session C: Random Vibrations and Dynamic Stability Session D: Vibrations of Composite Structures Session E: Special Dynamical Problems of Beams, Plates and Shells The papers in this volums were divided into two parts: papers of invited keynote lectures and those of the invited contributed lectures.

This monograph presents an introduction to Harmonic Balance for nonlinear vibration problems, covering the theoretical basis, its application to mechanical systems, and its computational implementation. Harmonic Balance is an approximation method for the computation of periodic solutions of nonlinear ordinary and differential-algebraic equations. It outperforms numerical forward integration in terms of computational efficiency often by several orders of magnitude. The method is widely used in the analysis of nonlinear systems, including structures, fluids and electric circuits. The book includes solved exercises which illustrate the advantages of Harmonic Balance over alternative methods as well as its limitations. The target audience primarily comprises graduate and post-graduate students, but the book may also be beneficial for research experts and practitioners in industry.

* Explains the physical meaning of linear and nonlinear structural mechanics. * Shows how to perform nonlinear structural analysis. * Points out important nonlinear structural dynamics behaviors. * Provides ready-to-use governing equations.

This book covers both classical and modern analytical methods in nonlinear systems. A wide range of applications from fundamental research to engineering problems are addressed. The book contains seven chapters, each with miscellaneous problems and their detailed solutions. More than 100 practice problems are illustrated, which might be useful for students and researchers in the areas of nonlinear oscillations and applied mathematics. With providing real world examples, this book shows the multidisciplinary emergence of nonlinear dynamical systems in a wide range of applications including mechanical and electrical oscillators, micro/nano resonators and sensors, and also modelling of global warming, epidemic diseases, sociology, chemical reactions, biology and ecology.

This book focuses on the computational analysis of nonlinear vibrations of structural members (beams, plates, panels, shells), where the studied dynamical problems can be reduced to the consideration of one spatial variable and time. The reduction is carried out based on a formal mathematical approach aimed at reducing the problems with infinite dimension to finite ones. The process also includes a transition from governing nonlinear partial differential equations to a set of finite number of ordinary differential equations.Beginning with an overview of the recent results devoted to the analysis and control of nonlinear dynamics of structural members, placing emphasis on stability, buckling, bifurcation and deterministic chaos, simple chaotic systems are briefly discussed. Next, bifurcation and chaotic dynamics of the Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beams including the geometric and physical nonlinearity as well as the elastic-plastic deformations are illustrated. Despite the employed classical numerical analysis of nonlinear phenomena, the various wavelet transforms and the four Lyapunov exponents are used to detect, monitor and possibly control chaos, hyper-chaos, hyper-hyper-chaos and deep chaos exhibited by rectangular plate-strips and cylindrical panels.The book is intended for post-graduate and doctoral students, applied mathematicians, physicists, teachers and lecturers of universities and companies dealing with a nonlinear dynamical system, as well as theoretically inclined engineers of mechanical and civil engineering.