Variational, Incremental and Energy Methods in Solid Mechanics and Shell Theory

Studies in Applied Mechanics, 4: Variational, Incremental, and Energy Methods in Solid Mechanics and Shell Theory covers the subject of variational, incremental, and energy methods in Solid Mechanics and Shell Theory from a general standpoint, employing general coordinates and tensor notations. The publication first ponders on mathematical preliminaries, kinematics and stress in three-dimensional solid continua, and the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Discussions focus on the principles of virtual displacements and virtual forces, kinematics of rigid body motions, incremental stresses, kinematics of incremental deformation, description of motion, coordinates, reference and deformed states, tensor formulas for surfaces, and differentials and derivatives of operators. The text then elaborates on constitutive material laws, deformation and stress in shells, first law of thermodynamics applied to shells, and constitutive relations and material laws for shells. Concerns cover hyperelastic incremental material relations, material laws for thin elastic shells, incremental theory and stability, reduced and local forms of the first law of thermodynamics, and description of deformation and motion in shells. The book examines elastic stability, finite element models, variational and incremental principles, variational principles of elasticity and shell theory, and constitutive relations and material laws for shells. The publication is a valuable reference for researchers interested in the variational, incremental, and energy methods in solid mechanics and shell theory.