Structural Mechanics

Professor Tomasz Wierzbicki earned his MS degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology, followed by a PhD from the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research. He then pursued postdoctoral studies at Stanford University, delving into innovative research in crashworthiness. This expertise garnered him an invitation from Volvo, where he contributed to various projects. In 1981, he ascended to the position of Full Professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences before relocating to the United States later that year. Joining MIT in 1983, he directed the Impact and Crashworthiness Lab. His contributions have been widely recognized with over 250 papers published in leading international journals. In 1986, he was honored with the Alexander von Humboldt senior US Scientist Award, marking the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with the BMW R&D Department in Munich, focusing primarily on fracture mechanics. Professor Wierzbicki's legacy is evident in the numerous industry-oriented programs he has spearheaded at MIT, garnering support from over 76 major automotive, steel, aluminum, offshore, shipbuilding, and consumer electronics companies. His research interests span dynamic plasticity, structural failure, crashworthiness, ultralight materials, ductile fracture, and, more recently, a pioneering program on modeling lithium-ion batteries. He has also served as an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Impact Engineering for many years. Dr. Jiayin Ling serves as a Senior Services Manager at GE HealthCare. Before this role, he held various engineering positions at GE, where he played key roles in developing innovative medical devices such as photon-counting CT scanners and helium-free MRI magnets. Dr. Ling earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his B.S. in Physics from Tsinghua University.

Part I From Continuum Mechanics to Elastic Structures

Lecture 1: The concept of strain
Lecture 2: The Concept of Stress, Generalized Stresses and Equilibrium
Lecture 3: Development of Constitutive Equations of Continuum, Beams and Plates Lecture
4: Solution Method for Beam Deflections
Lecture 5: Moderately Large Deflection Theory of Beams
Lecture 6: Bending Response of Plates and Optimum Design
Lecture 7: Energy Methods in Elasticity
Lecture 8: Stability of Elastic Structures
Lecture 9: Advanced Topic in Column Buckling
Lecture 10: Buckling of Plates and Sections

Part II Plastic Analysis of Plates and Shells, and Ductile Fracture
Lecture 11: Fundamental concepts in plasticity
Lecture 12: Von Mises yield condition
Lecture 13: Tresca yield condition
Lecture 14: Yield condition in generalized stresses
Lecture 15: Principle of virtual velocity and Limit Analysis
Lecture 16: Fundamental concepts of ductile fracture
Lecture 17: Fracture Calibration and Experimental Validation

Part III Dynamic Loading and Failure of Structures
Lecture 18: Space Shuttle Challenger mid-air break-up (1986)
Lecture 19: Denting Analysis of Short Tubular Members
Lecture 20: Buckle Propagation In Undersea Pipelines (1987)
Lecture 21: Grounding Damage of Exxon Valdez (1989)
Lecture 22: Airplane Wing Cutting Into Twin Tower External Columns(2003)
Lecture 23: Fracture And Collapse of the BP Horizon Oil Rig (2010)
Lecture 24: Road Debris Impact on EV Battery Pack (2014)

Appendix