Hartmann Friedel, Jahn Peter. Statics and Influence Functions-From a Modern Perspective

Springer, 2017. — 355 p. — ISBN: 978-3-319-51221-1.The book teaches engineers many new things about a classical topic which suddenly is again in the center of interest because of its relevance for finite element analysis, for the accuracy of computational methods.
It shows that influence functions play a fundamental role in the finite element analysis of structures and practically all of linear computational mechanics. It also strives to add new and important insights into modern structural analysis and into computational mechanics by establishing the central role of influence functions for the numerical analysis and to lay a new foundation to the energy and variational principles.The subject of this book are influence functions and the role they play in finite element analysis of structures. Influence functions are a classical tool of structural analysis and dearly loved by ‘old school’ engineers since with some clever sketches—if need be on a beer mat—it is easy to understand the behavior of a structure or to find the weak spots in a design.
Unfortunately, with the advent of finite element programs though, the application of influence functions has faded into the background. When in doubt, one rather studies the variants in a design with the computer than to strive for a deeper understanding which the study of influence functions can provide so easily and so well.Basics
Betti’s Theorem
Finite Elements
Betti Extended
Stiffness Changes and Reanalysis
Singularites
Energy Principles of Plates and Slabs and Supplements
Postscript