Buckling Experiments

Written by eminent researchers and renown authors of numerous publications in the buckling structures field. Deals with experimental investigation in the industry. Covers the conventional and more unconventional methods for testing for a wide variety of structures. Various parameters which may influence the test results are systemically highlighted including, imperfections, boundary conditions, loading conditions as well as the effects of holes and cut-outs.

* Edited by Josef Singer, the world's foremost authority on structural buckling. * Time-saving and cost-effective design data for all structural, mechanical, and aerospace engineering researchers.

This book provides an in-depth treatment of the study of the stability of engineering structures. Contributions from internationally recognized leaders in the field ensure a wide coverage of engineering disciplines in which structural stability is of importance, in particular the experimental, analytical and numerical modelling of structural stability applied to aeronautical, civil and marine structures. This second volume in buckling and postbuckling structures builds on the first, and reports on the development of fast semi-analytical methods for the rapid characterization of postbuckling structures; optimization approaches for the design of stiffened composite panels, and a discourse on imperfection sensitivity. This book will be a particularly useful reference to professional engineers, graduate students and researchers interested in structural stability.

This book provides an in-depth treatment of the study of the stability of engineering structures. Contributions from internationally recognized leaders in the field ensure a wide coverage of engineering disciplines in which structural stability is of importance, in particular the analytical and numerical modelling of structural stability applied to aeronautical, civil, marine and offshore structures. The results from a number of comprehensive experimental test programs are also presented, thus enhancing our understanding of stability phenomena as well as validating the analytical and computational solution schemes presented. A variety of structural materials are investigated with special emphasis on carbon-fibre composites, which are being increasingly utilized in weight-critical structures. Instabilities at the meso- and micro-scales are also discussed. This book will be particularly relevant to professional engineers, graduate students and researchers interested in structural stability./a

Thin shells are very popular structures in many different branches of engineering. There are the domes, water and cooling towers, the contain ments in civil engineering, the pressure vessels and pipes in mechanical and nuclear engineering, storage tanks and platform components in marine and offshore engineering, the car bodies in the automobile industry, planes, rockets and space structures in aeronautical engineering, to mention only a few examples of the broad spectrum of application. In addition there is the large applied mechanics group involved in all the computational and experimental work in this area. Thin shells are in a way optimal structures. They play the role of·the "primadonnas" among all kinds of structures. Their performance can be extraordinary, but they can also be very sensitive. The susceptibility to buckling is a typical example. David Bushnell says in his recent review paper entitled "Buckling of Shells - Pitfall for DeSigners": "To the layman buckling is a mysterious, perhaps even awe inspiring phenomenon that transforms objects originally imbued with symmetrical beauty into junk".

Thin-walled metal shell structures are highly efficient in their use of material, but they are particularly sensitive to failure by buckiling. Many different forms of buckling can occur for different geometries and different loading conditions. Because this field of knowledge is both complex and industrially important, it is of great interest and concern in a wide range of industries. This book presents a compilation and synthesis of a wealth of research, experience and knowledge of the subject. Information that was previously widely scattered throughout the literature is assembled in a concise and convenient form that is easy to understand, and state-of-the-art research findings are thoroughly examined. This book is useful for those involved in the structural design of silos, tanks, pipelines, biodigestors, chimneys, towers, offshore platforms, aircraft and spacecraft. Buckling of Thin Metal Shells is essential reading for designers, researchers and code writers involved with thin-walled metal shell structures.

* Edited by Josef Singer, the world's foremost authority on structural buckling. * Time-saving and cost-effective design data for all structural, mechanical, and aerospace engineering researchers.