This book centers on the principle of virtual work and its related method for mechanical modeling. It demonstrates and enhances the polyvalence and versatility of the virtual work approach to the mechanical modeling process. Virtual work is set as the principle at the root of a force modeling method that can be implemented on any […]
This book centers on the principle of virtual work and its related method for mechanical modeling. It demonstrates and enhances the polyvalence and versatility of the virtual work approach to the mechanical modeling process.
Virtual work is set as the principle at the root of a force modeling method that can be implemented on any geometrical description. Building on experimentally grounded hypotheses, the method provides a unifying framework for building up consistently associated force models where external and internal forces are introduced through their virtual rates of work.
Systems described as three-dimensional, curvilinear or planar continua are considered and force models are established with the corresponding equations of motion. The validation process reveals that enlarging the domain of relevance of a mechanical model, when needed for practical applications, calls for an enrichment of its geometrical description that takes into account its underlying microstructure.