This coverage of elasticity problems bridges the gap between traditional texts concerned with the analytical approach, and those describing numerical methods only. The author highlights the three most commonly-used numerical approaches, and considers the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. The choice of topics offers a perspective on the entire subject area. The text opens with an introduction to the fundamentals of stress and strain analysis in three dimensions, including the principal stresses and strains, and equations of stress equilibrium and compatibility of strains. This is followed by details of major applications of engineering theory using analytical techniques, eg the bending of beams and rings, bonding, torsion, axi-symmetric problems, plates and shells, concentrated loads and stress, and energy methods. The last section deals with numerical methods of solution, which have gained importance with the spread of digital computers from mainframes to personal microcomputers.
Introducing the main methods currently in use (finite difference, finite element, and boundary integral equation (boundary equation techniques), the author describes principles rather than precise details of computing algorithms. By comparing and contrasting the methods, he offers a number of practical applications.