This book focuses on beam and plate elements, essential components found across various fields from automotive and aerospace engineering to civil engineering structures. It offers a comparative exploration of the fundamental equations governing thin and thick beams, as well as thin and thick plates, providing readers with a clear understanding of these foundational structural elements. By explaining the three fundamental equations of continuum mechanics—equilibrium, kinematics, and constitution—the text culminates in a unified differential equation framework, offering both beginners...

This book treats the mechanical behavior of one-dimensional sandwich structures, a typicaloncept in the context of lightweight design. Such structures are composed of different constituent (e.g., layers) in order to achieve overall properties, which are better than for a single component alone. This book covers the basic mechanical load cases, i.e., tension/compression, bending, and shear. Based on this knowledge, different failure modes, i.e., plastic yielding, and global and local instabilities are investigated. In addition, an introduction to classic optimization...

This textbook presents finite element methods using exclusively one-dimensional elements. The aim is to present the complex methodology in an easily understandable but mathematically correct fashion. The approach of one-dimensional elements enables the reader to focus on the understanding of the principles of basic and advanced mechanical problems. The reader easily understands the assumptions and limitations of mechanical modeling as well as the underlying physics without struggling with complex mathematics. But although the description is easy it remains scientifically correct.

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This book uses a novel concept to teach the finite element method, applying it to solid mechanics. This major conceptual shift takes away lengthy theoretical derivations in the face-to-face interactions with students and focuses on the summary of key equations and concepts; and to practice these on well-chosen example problems.

For this new, 2nd edition, many examples and design modifications have been added, so that the learning-by-doing features of this book make it easier to understand the concepts and put them into practice.

This book provides a systematic and thorough overview of the classical bending members based on the theory for thin beams (shear-rigid) according to Euler-Bernoulli, and the theories for thick beams (shear-flexible) according to Timoshenko and Levinson. The understanding of basic, i.e., one-dimensional structural members, is essential in applied mechanics. A systematic and thorough introduction to the theoretical concepts for one-dimensional members keeps the requirements on engineering mathematics quite low, and allows for a simpler transfer to higher-order structural members. The new...

This book in the advanced structured materials series provides first an introduction to the mircomechanics of fiber-reinforced laminae, which deals with the prediction of the macroscopic mechanical lamina properties based on the mechanical properties of the constituents, i.e., fibers and matrix. Composite materials, especially fiber-reinforced composites, are gaining increasing importance since they can overcome the limits of many structures based on classical metals. Particularly, the combination of a matrix with fibers provides far better properties than the constituents alone. Despite...