• Dr. Dewey H. Hodges
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 261 Durham Hall
  • 4:15 p.m.
  • Faculty Host: Dr. Roger Simpson

In modeling of structures with one dimension significantly larger (or smaller) than the other two, one can reduce the complexity of the resulting analysis by taking advantage of inherent small parameters. This results in reduced-dimensional models, such as beams (or plates/shells), and a much simpler mathematical formulation that helps to save computational costs. With the advent of composites and structural members with initial twist/curvature, particularly in the field of aerospace engineering, using beam, plate or shell theories based on traditional approaches and ideas will not yield accurate results. The variational-asymptotic-method (VAM) provides a mathematically rigorous way to reduce the 3D problem into a 1D beam-like (or 2D plate/shell) but without a priori assumptions such as "plane sections remain plane" or other oversimplifications. In this seminar, an overview of VAM is presented along with a description of how it can be used to develop reduced-order models for beams, plates and shells. The results are verified for test cases by comparisons with 3D solutions or 3D FEM results.