Non-Classical Problems in the Theory of Elastic Stability

When a structure is put under an increasing compressive load, it may become unstable and buckle. Buckling is a particularly significant concern in designing shell structures such as aircraft, automobiles, ships, or bridges. This book discusses stability analysis and buckling problems and offers practical tools for dealing with uncertainties that inherently exist in real systems. The techniques are based on two competing yet complementary theories, which are developed in the text. First, the authors present the probabilistic theory of stability, with particular emphasis on reliability. Both theoretical and computational issues are discussed. Second, they present the alternative to probability based on the notion of “anti-optimization,” a theory that is valid when the necessary information for probabilistic analysis is absent, that is, when only scant data are available. Design engineers, researchers, and graduate students in aerospace, mechanical, marine, and civil engineering and theoretical and applied mechanics who are concerned with issues of structural reliability and integrity will find this book a particularly useful reference.