Chapter 8: Nonlinear Structural Analysis
Structural nonlinearities occur on a routine basis. For example, whenever you staple two pieces of paper
together, the metal staples are permanently bent into a different shape, as shown in Figure 8.1: Common
Examples of Nonlinear Structural Behavior (p. 193) (a). If you heavily load a wooden shelf, it sags more
and more as time passes, as shown in Figure (b). As weight is added to a car or truck, the contact surfaces
between its pneumatic tires and the underlying pavement change in response to the added load, as
shown in Figure (c). If you were to plot the load-deflection curve for each example, you would discover
that they exhibit the fundamental characteristic of nonlinear structural behavior: a changing structural
stiffness.
Figure 8.1: Common Examples of Nonlinear Structural Behavior
(a)staple(b)woodenbookshelf 1 2cumicirFuFu 0 1 2 3FuThe following nonlinear structural analysis topics are available:
8.1. Causes of Nonlinear Behavior
8.2. Understanding Nonlinear Analyses
8.3. Using Geometric Nonlinearities
8.4. Modeling Material Nonlinearities
8.5. Running a Nonlinear Analysis
8.6. Performing a Nonlinear Static Analysis
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