Stochastic Structural Dynamics

Abstract

Stochastic structural dynamics is concerned with the studies of dynamics of structures and structural systems that are subjected to complex excitations treated as random processes. In engineering practice, many structures and structural systems cannot be dealt with analytically and therefore the versatile numerical analysis techniques, the finite element methods (FEM) are employed. The parallel developments of the FEM in the 1950's and the engineering applications ofstochastic processes in the 1940's provided a combined numerical analysis tool for the studies of dynamics of structures and structural systems under random loadings. In the open literature, there are books on statistical dynamics of structures and books on structural dynamics with chapter(s) dealing with random response analysis. However, a systematic treatment of stochastic structural dynamics applying the FEM seems to be lacking. The present book is believed to be the first relatively in-depth and systematic treatment on the subject. It is aimed at advanced and specialist level. It is suitable for classes taken by master’s degree level post-graduate students and specialists.