This book deals with kinematics and statics of rigid-body systems, lumped elasticity, variational principles, dynamics, stability and bifurcation, piece-wise linear (rigid-plastic or elasto-plastic) constitutive behavior, and geometrically nonlinear behavior. The presentation of the matter is strongly innovative: all the fundamental principles and methods, which are usually discussed for continuous media (namely, the displacement and force methods, the virtual work principle, the stationar...

Nonlinear models of elastic and visco-elastic onedimensional continuous structures (beams and cables) are formulated by the authors of this title. Several models of increasing complexity are presented: straight/curved, planar/non-planar, extensible/inextensible, shearable/unshearable, warpingunsensitive/ sensitive, prestressed/unprestressed beams, both in statics and dynamics. Typical engineering problems are solved via perturbation and/or numerical approaches, such as bifurcation and stab...

This concise text introduces the reader to the use of perturbation methods, able to investigate nonlinear phenomena in continuous (not only discrete) mechanical systems. Distinct from the classic books on perturbation methods, the algorithms are directly illustrated for continuous systems, referring to a very simple case-study as well as to a metamodel, for which Statics, Buckling, Dynamics and Bifurcation behavior are quickly analyzed. Moreover, fundamental mechanical aspects are...

This book overcomes the separation existing in literature between the static and the dynamic bifurcation worlds. It brings together buckling and post-buckling problems with nonlinear dynamics, the bridge being represented by the perturbation method, i.e., a mathematical tool that allows for solving static and dynamic problems virtually in the same way.The book is organized as follows: Chapter one gives an overview; Chapter two illustrates phenomenological aspect of static and dynam...