Theory of Structures

This book provides the reader with a consistent approach to theory of structures on the basis of applied mechanics. It covers framed structures as well as plates and shells using elastic and plastic theory, and emphasizes the historical background and the relationship to practical engineering activities. This is the first comprehensive treatment of the school of structures that has evolved at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich over the last 50 years. The many worked examples and exercises make this a textbook ideal for in-depth studies. Each chapter concludes with a summary that highlights the most important aspects in concise form. Specialist terms are defined in the appendix. There is an extensive index befitting such a work of reference. The structure of the content and highlighting in the text make the book easy to use. The notation, properties of materials and geometrical properties of sections plus brief outlines of matrix algebra, tensor calculus and calculus of variations can be found in the appendices. This publication should be regarded as a key work of reference for students, teaching staff and practising engineers. Its purpose is to show readers how to model and handle structures appropriately, to support them in designing and checking the structures within their sphere of responsibility.

I INTRODUCTION Purpose and scope of theory of structures Historical background II FUNDAMENTALS Structural design Structural analysis and dimensioning Static relationships Kinematic relationships Constitutive relationships Energy methods III STATICALLY DETERMINATE FRAMED STRUCTURES Structural elements and topology Determining the forces Stress resultants and state diagrams Influence lines IV DEFORMATIONS OF FRAMED STRUCTURES Elementary deformations Single deformations Deformation diagrams V STATICALLY INDETERMINATE FRAMED STRUCTURES Force method Displacement method Continua Discontinua VI NON-LINEAR ANALYSIS OF FRAMED STRUCTURES Elastic-plastic systems Limit analysis Stability VII PLATES AND SHELLS Plates Slabs Folded plates Shells APPENDIX A1 Definitions A2 Notation A3 Properties of materials A4 Geometrical properties of sections A5 Matrix algebra A6 Tensor calculus A7 Calculus of variations REFERENCES INDEX