Phenomenological and Mathematical Modelling of Structural Instabilities

The book deals with the buckling and post-buckling analysis of slender structures. This topic plays a role of primary importance in the field of applied mechanics due to the increasing use of light-weight structures in civil, industrial and aerospace engineering. The purpose of this work is to present some recent progress in the field of structural instability with regard to both the practical applications and to the transfer of theoretical results to practice. This new approach is expected to be useful both to practical designers and to theoreticians which may come in the future to a more fruitful cooperation. Practical designers are incapable of watching beyond the buckling load of a structure to assess adequate information on its safety. On the other hand, researchers become sometimes infatuated with mathematical modelling and pay scarce attention to the technical problems posed by the industry to the engineer. The purpose of this book is to fill the gap existing between designers and theoreticians.