This book is concerned with the static and dynamic analysis of structures. Specifi cally, it uses the stiffness formulated matrix methods for use on computers to tackle some of the fundamental problems facing engineers in structural mechanics. This is done by covering the Mechanics of Structures, its rephrasing in terms of the Matrix Methods, and then their Computational implementation, all within a cohesivesetting. Although this book is designed primarily as a text for use at the upper-undergraduate and beginning graduate level, many practicing structural engineers will find it useful as a reference and self-study guide. Several dozen books on structural mechanics and as many on matrix methods are currently available. A natural question to ask is why another text? An odd devel opment has occurred in engineering in recent years that can serve as a backdrop to why this book was written. With the widespread availability and use of comput ers, today's engineers have on their desk tops an analysis capability undreamt of by previous generations. However, the ever increasing quality and range of capabilities of commercially available software packages has divided the engineering profession into two groups: a small group of specialist program writers that know the ins and outs of the coding, algorithms, and solution strategies; and a much larger group of practicing engineers who use the programs. It is possible for this latter group to use this enormous power without really knowing anything of its source."

This book is concerned with the static and dynamic analysis of structures. Specifi cally, it uses the stiffness formulated matrix methods for use on computers to tackle some of the fundamental problems facing engineers in structural mechanics. This is done by covering the Mechanics of Structures, its rephrasing in terms of the Matrix Methods, and then their Computational implementation, all within a cohesivesetting. Although this book is designed primarily as a text for use at the upper-undergraduate and beginning graduate level, many practicing structural engineers will find it useful as a reference and self-study guide. Several dozen books on structural mechanics and as many on matrix methods are currently available. A natural question to ask is why another text? An odd devel opment has occurred in engineering in recent years that can serve as a backdrop to why this book was written. With the widespread availability and use of comput ers, today's engineers have on their desk tops an analysis capability undreamt of by previous generations. However, the ever increasing quality and range of capabilities of commercially available software packages has divided the engineering profession into two groups: a small group of specialist program writers that know the ins and outs of the coding, algorithms, and solution strategies; and a much larger group of practicing engineers who use the programs. It is possible for this latter group to use this enormous power without really knowing anything of its source."

All structures suffer from stresses and strains caused by factors such as wind loading and vibrations. Stress analysis and measurement is an integral part of the design and management of structures, and is used in a wide range of engineering areas.

There are two main types of stress analyses - the first is conceptual where the structure does not yet exist and the analyst has more freedom to define geometry, materials, loads etc - generally such analysis is undertaken using numerical methods such as the finite element method. The second is where the structure (or a prototype) exists, and so some parameters are known. Others though, such as wind loading or environmental conditions will not be completely known and yet may profoundly affect the structure. These problems are generally handled by an ad hoc combination of experimental and analytical methods.

This book therefore tackles one of the most common challenges facing engineers - how to solve a stress analysis problem when all of the required information is not available. Its central concern is to establish formal methods for including measurements as part of the complete analysis of such problems by presenting a new approach to the processing of experimental data and thus to experimentation itself. In addition, engineers using finite element methods will be able to extend the range of problems they can solve (and thereby the range of applications they can address) using the methods developed here.

"Modern Experimental Stress Analysis" Presents a comprehensive and modern reformulation of the approach to processing experimental dataOffers a large collection of problems ranging from static to dynamic, linear to non-linearCovers stress analysis with the finite element methodIncludes a wealth of documented experimental examplesProvides new ideas for researchers in computational mechanics