Buckliphobia or buckliphilia: Is structural instability always bad? A talk by Ahmer Wadee (Imperial College London)
Abstract
Structural engineering, with its rich history of landmark monuments and numerous personalities, relies fundamentally on nonlinear mathematics since structural failure is inherently a nonlinear process. Such maths can reveal whether structures are vulnerable to catastrophically dangerous collapse (or failures) or those that can be contained or exploited. We will focus on geometric nonlinearities, the source of which are large deflections or deformations. Structural instability, or buckling, is most likely to occur in components or systems made from slender elements that are under compression to some extent, such as columns and beams. We shall see that nonlinear maths provides key tools to make informed decisions about whether potential failure modes are catastrophic or where instabilities may even be exploited to enhance structural performance.
Ahmer Wadee is Professor of Nonlinear Mechanics in the Structures Section, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and leads the research group specialising in the field of Nonlinear Structural Stability. His primary research interests involve modelling buckling instabilities in metallic and composite material structures using analytical methods
No charge is made to attend meetings; non-IMA members are welcome.
