A finite element displacement method is developed for the elasto-plastic analysis of bi-linear strain-hardening orthotropic plates and shells. Two basic approaches in the elasto-plastic analysis, the 'initial stiffness' approach and the 'tangent stiffness' approach are presented and compared. Three separate computer programs have been written; the first two are for the plane stress case. The third program is for the rectangular shallow shells, and it uses elements whose thicknesses are subdivided into equally-spaced layers, each of which is assumed to be in plane stress. (Author).

From the preface: "The advent of computers has opened new horizons in the field of engineering design. In the realm of analysis for engineering design the finite element method has emerged as a powerful tool for modeling and analysis of solids and structures of complex geometries and variable material properties in many areas of engineering design such as machine components, pressure vessels, nuclear reactors, off-shore structures, steel and concrete buildings, bridges, towers, automobile components, turbine parts, power plant structures, etc. The text-book literature on the finite element method exists at an introductory level through the new and more advanced level of simple applications. Modeling and analysis of practical problems continue to be developed and published in technical journals. Developments are also taking place in the use of artificial intelligence techniques in expert systems to advise the analysts on the choice of the elements, type of analysis, discretization, etc. for solving complicated problems. It is essential to periodically synthesize all the developments on the finite element method and its applications to practical problems of engineering design and also to identify the future areas of research both in the domains of academic research and industrial applications. Keeping this in mind an advanced study institute was organized at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India during Aug. 1-10, 1988. This volume contains lecture notes prepared by the invited lecturers attending the Advanced Study Institute. It should serve as a ready reference to researchers and practitioners engaged in the finite-element analysis related to engineering design in several disciplines."

Finite Strip Method in Structural Analysis is a concise introduction to the theory of the finite strip method and its application to structural engineering, with special reference to practical structures such as slab bridges and box girder bridges. Topics covered include the bending of plates and plate-beam systems, with application to slab-beam bridges; plane stress analysis; vibration and stability of plates and shells; and finite layer and finite prism methods. Comprised of eight chapters, this book begins with an overview of the theory of the finite strip method, highlighting the importance of the choice of suitable displacement functions for a strip as well as the formulation of strip characteristics. Subsequent chapters consider many different types of finite strips for plate and shell problems and present numerical examples. The extension of the finite strip method to three-dimensional problems is then described, with emphasis on the finite layer method and the finite prism method. The final chapter discusses some computer methods that are commonly used in structural analysis. A folded plate computer program is included for completeness, and a detailed description for a worked problem is also presented for the sake of clarity. This monograph will be of interest to civil and structural engineers.