This book is an outcome of academic cooperation between the Volgograd State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in Russia, Stellenbosch University in South Africa and the Technische Universit„t Berlin in Germany. The authors performed coordinated and cooperative research on nonlinear structural analysis and on computer-supported civil engineering over a period of several years. Many of the innovative aspects of this book were invented and developed in the course of the research effort.

The availability of computers has, in real terms, moved forward the practice of structural engineering. Where it was once enough to have any analysis given a complex configuration, the profession today is much more demanding. How engineers should be more demanding is the subject of this book. In terms of the theory of structures, the importance of geometric nonlinearities is explained by the theorem which states that "In the presence of prestress, geometric nonlinearities are of the same order of magnitude as linear elastic effects in structures. " This theorem implies that in most cases (in all cases of incremental analysis) geometric nonlinearities should be considered. And it is well known that problems of buckling, cable nets, fabric structures, ... REQUIRE the inclusion of geometric nonlinearities. What is offered in the book which follows is a unified approach (for both discrete and continuous systems) to geometric nonlinearities which incidentally does not require a discussion of large strain. What makes this all work is perturbation theory. Let the equations of equilibrium for a system be written as where P represents the applied loads, F represents the member forces or stresses, and N represents the operator which describes system equilibrium.

Structural Analysis Systems: Software—Hardware Capability—Compatibility—Applications, Volume 1 is a practical guidebook on structural analysis systems and their applications. It provides detailed information about a specific software, its postprocessor capabilities and limitations, computer-aided design connection, and compatibility with the most common computers. Several practical examples from industry with computer and user cost are given. This volume consists of 22 chapters and begins with a brief description of the ADINA 84 system and its finite elements, material models, and solution capabilities. The discussion then turns to the analysis interpretive treatise and its database concept; the ANSYS program for engineering analysis; and the structural analysis capabilities of the boundary element analysis system BEASY. The following chapters explore other structural analysis programs such as DEFOR, FLASH, KYOKAI, PAFEC, and PANDA. General purpose finite element and boundary element computer programs for structural and solid mechanics applications are also described. This book will be a valuable resource for practitioners in scientific and industrial disciplines such as mechanical or civil engineering, informatics, applied mathematics, and computer science.