Isaac E. Elishakoff - Böcker

The volume presents a collaboration between internationally recognized experts on anti-optimization and structural optimization, and summarizes various novel ideas, methodologies and results studied over 20 years. The book vividly demonstrates how the concept of uncertainty should be incorporated in a rigorous manner during the process of designing real-world structures. The necessity of anti-optimization approach is first demonstrated, then the anti-optimization techniques are applied to static, dynamic and buckling problems, thus covering the broadest possible set of applications. Finally, anti-optimization is fully utilized by a combination of structural optimization to produce the optimal design considering the worst-case scenario. This is currently the only book that covers the combination of optimization and anti-optimization. It shows how various optimization techniques are used in the novel anti-optimization technique, and how the structural optimization can be exponentially enhanced by incorporating the concept of worst-case scenario, thereby increasing the safety of the structures designed in various fields of engineering.

The first edition of this book appeared over three decades ago (Wiley-Interscience, 1983), whereas the second one saw light on the verge of new millennium (Dover, 1999). This is third, corrected and expanded edition that appears in conjunction with its companion volume .Thus, the reader is able to both get acquainted with the theoretical material and be able to master some of the problems, following Chinese dictum: I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand — Confucius.The main idea of the book lies in the fact that three topics: probabilistic strength of materials, random vibrations, and probabilistic buckling are presented in a single package allowing one to see the forest in between the trees. Indeed, these three topics usually are presented in separate manners, in different specialized books. Here, the reader gets a feeling of true unity of the subject at large in order to appreciate that in the end what one wants is reliability of the structure, in conjunction with its operating conditions.As the author describes in the Preface of the second edition, this book was not conceived ab initio, as a book that author strived to compose. Rather, it was forced, as it were, upon me due to two reasons. One was rather a surprising but understandable requirement in the venerable Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands to prepare the lecture notes for students with the view of reducing skyrocketing costs of acquisition of textbooks by the students. The other one was an unusually warm acceptance of the notes that the author prepared while at Delft University of Technology and later in Haifa, at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology by the legendary engineering scientist Warner Tjardus Koiter (1914-1997). The energy necessary to prepare the second and third editions came from enthusiastic reviews that appeared in various sources. Author embraced the simplicity of exposition as the main virtue following Isaac Newton's view that "Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things."

The first edition of this book appeared over three decades ago (Wiley-Interscience, 1983), whereas the second one saw light on the verge of new millennium (Dover, 1999). This is third, corrected and expanded edition that appears in conjunction with its companion volume .Thus, the reader is able to both get acquainted with the theoretical material and be able to master some of the problems, following Chinese dictum: I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand — Confucius.The main idea of the book lies in the fact that three topics: probabilistic strength of materials, random vibrations, and probabilistic buckling are presented in a single package allowing one to see the forest in between the trees. Indeed, these three topics usually are presented in separate manners, in different specialized books. Here, the reader gets a feeling of true unity of the subject at large in order to appreciate that in the end what one wants is reliability of the structure, in conjunction with its operating conditions.As the author describes in the Preface of the second edition, this book was not conceived ab initio, as a book that author strived to compose. Rather, it was forced, as it were, upon me due to two reasons. One was rather a surprising but understandable requirement in the venerable Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands to prepare the lecture notes for students with the view of reducing skyrocketing costs of acquisition of textbooks by the students. The other one was an unusually warm acceptance of the notes that the author prepared while at Delft University of Technology and later in Haifa, at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology by the legendary engineering scientist Warner Tjardus Koiter (1914-1997). The energy necessary to prepare the second and third editions came from enthusiastic reviews that appeared in various sources. Author embraced the simplicity of exposition as the main virtue following Isaac Newton's view that "Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things."

The first edition of the combined monograph and textbook Probabilistic Methods in the Theory of Structures was published by Wiley-Interscience in 1983. 1n 1999, Dover Publications, Inc. published its second edition under shorter title Probabilistic Theory of Structures. Now, World Scientific has expanded into a 3rd edition to include Problems with Complete Worked-Through Solutions. This compendium of solutions was written in response to requests by numerous university educators around the world, since it has been adopted as a textbook or an additional reading for both undergraduate and graduate courses.The author hopes that the availability of such solutions manual will further help to establish the courses dealing with probabilistic strength of materials, design, random buckling, and random vibration. The material itself was developed by author for various undergraduate and graduate courses, during years 1972-1989 at the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, Israel, at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, year 1979/80 at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA and at the Florida Atlantic University, USA since 1994.Already since mid-eighties, the author was informed that the book was adopted in numerous universities worldwide. Besides complete solutions to more than one hundred problems, additional material and remarks are included as Chapter 12, bringing some ideas down to the "number" level.It is strongly hoped that this manual will promote much wider dissemination of probabilistic methods' courses at universities, and ultimately, in engineering practice worldwide.The 3rd Edition of the textbook, , is available separately.

The first edition of the combined monograph and textbook Probabilistic Methods in the Theory of Structures was published by Wiley-Interscience in 1983. 1n 1999, Dover Publications, Inc. published its second edition under shorter title Probabilistic Theory of Structures. Now, World Scientific has expanded into a 3rd edition to include Problems with Complete Worked-Through Solutions. This compendium of solutions was written in response to requests by numerous university educators around the world, since it has been adopted as a textbook or an additional reading for both undergraduate and graduate courses.The author hopes that the availability of such solutions manual will further help to establish the courses dealing with probabilistic strength of materials, design, random buckling, and random vibration. The material itself was developed by author for various undergraduate and graduate courses, during years 1972-1989 at the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, Israel, at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, year 1979/80 at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA and at the Florida Atlantic University, USA since 1994.Already since mid-eighties, the author was informed that the book was adopted in numerous universities worldwide. Besides complete solutions to more than one hundred problems, additional material and remarks are included as Chapter 12, bringing some ideas down to the "number" level.It is strongly hoped that this manual will promote much wider dissemination of probabilistic methods' courses at universities, and ultimately, in engineering practice worldwide.The 3rd Edition of the textbook, , is available separately.

The refined theory of beams, which takes into account both rotary inertia and shear deformation, was developed jointly by Timoshenko and Ehrenfest in the years 1911-1912. In over a century since the theory was first articulated, tens of thousands of studies have been performed utilizing this theory in various contexts. Likewise, the generalization of the Timoshenko-Ehrenfest beam theory to plates was given by Uflyand and Mindlin in the years 1948-1951.The importance of these theories stems from the fact that beams and plates are indispensable, and are often occurring elements of every civil, mechanical, ocean, and aerospace structure.Despite a long history and many papers, there is not a single book that summarizes these two celebrated theories. This book is dedicated to closing the existing gap within the literature. It also deals extensively with several controversial topics, namely those of priority, the so-called 'second spectrum' shear coefficient, and other issues, and shows vividly that the above beam and plate theories are unnecessarily overcomplicated.In the spirit of Einstein's dictum, 'Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler,' this book works to clarify both the Timoshenko-Ehrenfest beam and Uflyand-Mindlin plate theories, and seeks to articulate everything in the simplest possible language, including their numerous applications.This book is addressed to graduate students, practicing engineers, researchers in their early career, and active scientists who may want to have a different look at the above theories, as well as readers at all levels of their academic or scientific career who want to know the history of the subject. The Timoshenko-Ehrenfest Beam and Uflyand-Mindlin Plate Theories are the key reference works in the study of stocky beams and thick plates that should be given their due and remain important for generations to come, since classical Bernoulli-Euler beam and Kirchhoff-Love theories are applicable for slender beams and thin plates, respectively.Related Link(s)

There have been stability theories developed for beams, plates and shells — the most significant elements in mechanical, aerospace, ocean and marine engineering. For beams and plates, the theoretical and experimental values of buckling loads are in close vicinity. However for thin shells, the experimental predictions do not conform with the theory, due to presence of small geometric imperfections that are deviations from the ideal shape.This fact has been referred to in the literature as ‘embarrassing’, ‘paradoxical’ and ‘perplexing’. Indeed, the popular adage, “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is”, very much applies to thin shells whose experimental buckling loads may constitute a small fraction of the theoretical prediction based on classical linear theory; because in practice, engineers use knockdown factors that are not theoretically substantiated.This book presents a uniform approach that tames this prima-donna-like and capricious behavior of structures that has been dubbed the ‘imperfection sensitivity’ — thus resolving the conundrum that has occupied the best minds of elastic stability throughout the twentieth century.