Variational and Energy Methods in Structural Mechanics

Describes the advanced concepts that a graduate student or engineer will need to solve complex problems in any field of engineering It is crucial that the underlying principles on which an approximate analysis is based on are clearly understood by anyone who is both developing a software for an approximate method and by those who are using these approximate methods. Variational and Energy Methods in Structural Mechanics addresses this need, providing an academic guide to variational methods with applications and describing advanced concepts that a graduate student and an industrial engineer will need to solve complex problems in any field of engineering. Chapters include Variational Calculus, Variational Calculus, 1D and 2D Problems, Vibrations and Buckling, Meshless Methods and the XFEM. * Provides an academic guide to variational methods with applications * Describes advanced concepts that a graduate student or engineer will need to solve complex problems in any field of engineering * Features original material on meshless methods and the XFEM (extended finite element method) * Software related to many examples contained on the book will be housed on a book companion website