Theory of Elastic Thin Shells

Theory of Elastic Thin Shells discusses the mathematical foundations of shell theory and the approximate methods of solution. The present volume was originally published in Russian in 1953, and remains the only text which formulates as completely as possible the different sets of basic equations and various approximate methods of shell analysis emphasizing asymptotic integration. The book is organized into five parts. Part I presents the general formulation and equations of the theory of shells, which are based on the well-known hypothesis of the preservation of the normal element. Part II is devoted to the membrane theory--the most widely used approximate method of analysis of shells that was formulated at approximately the same time as the more general bending theory. In Part III methods of analysis of circular cylindrical shells with the aid of trigonometric series are considered. Part IV is essentially mathematical in character and its purpose is to justify the approximate methods of shell analysis. In Part V approximate methods of analysis of shells are formulated.