Abstract:
The last few decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the application
of numerical computation to problems in solid and structural mechanics. The
burgeoning of computational mechanics opened a pedagogical gap between
traditional courses in elementary strength of materials and the finite element
method that classical courses on advanced strength of materials and elasticity
do not adequately fill. In the past, our ability to formulate theory exceeded our
ability to compute. In those days, solid mechanics was for virtuosos. With the
advent of the finite element method, our ability to compute has surpassed our
ability to formulate theory. As a result, continuum mechanics is no longer the
province of the specialist.
What an engineer needs to know about mechanics has been forever changed
by our capacity to compute. This book attempts to capitalize on the pedagogical opportunities implicit in this shift of perspective. It now seems more appropriate to focus on fundamental principles and formulations than on classical
solution techniques.
The term structural mechanics probably means different things to different
people. To me it brings to mind the specialized theories of beams, plates, and
shells that provide the building blocks of common structures (if it involves
bending moment then it is probably structural mechanics). Structural elements
are often slender, so structural stability is also a key part of structural mechanics. This book covers the fundamentals of structural mechanics. The treatment
here is guided and confined by the strong philosophical framework of continuum mechanics and is given wings to fly by the powerful tools of numerical
