Trusses, frames, lattice-type shells

Abstract

It is natural to start the discussion of some exemplary solutions to nonlinear structural mechanics problems with structures made of bars. This task is undertaken in the present chapter in which we aim at showing the potential and effectiveness of the formulations and algorithms described earlier. Within this chapter we shall move forward by gradually increasing the degree of complexity of structural configurations considered; thus we begin with trusses in which only axial forces are transmitted by their particular members. Then we pass to frames made of beams which may effectively respond to axial forces as well as to bending and twisting moments. The last part of the chapter is devoted to the discussion of a highly complex problem of nonlinear static analysis of structures made of bars forming a repetitive pattern on given surfaces and thus behaving essentially in a shell-type manner.