Plate and panel structures of isotropic, composite and piezoelectric materials, including sandwich construction. (Q705832)

This textbook is aimed at both graduate and post-graduate students who have taken a course on the mechanics of materials. It is assumed that the reader has a basic knowledge of analytical mechanics and the strength of materials, as well as of mathematics in the framework of the basic technical course at university level. This book is divided into 4 chapters: plates and panels of isotropic materials; plates and panels of composite materials; plates and panels of sandwich construction and plates using smart (piezoelectric) materials. Readers can find topics of chapter 1 in classical books [\textit{S. Timoshenko} and \textit{S. Woinowsky-Krieger}, Theory of plates and shells. Moskau: Staatsverlag für physikalische-mathematische Literatur (1963; Zbl 0114.40801); \textit{S. Timoshenko}, \textit{D. H. Young} and \textit{W. Weaver jun.}, Vibration problems in engineering. John Wiley, New York (1974); \textit{S. Timoshenko} and \textit{J. M. Gere}, Theory of elastic stability. McGraw-Hill, New York (1961)], which have not lost scientific and pedagogical importance. Chapters 2 and 3 contain the results for anisotropic plates. Here the classical book by \textit{S. G. Lekhnitskii} [Anisotropic plates. Gordon \& Breach, New York (1981)] can be recommended, but the book by Vinson contains a greater quantity of modern results. Chapter 4 is too short and cannot be used as a textbook. The author describes only relatively simple analytical solutions and has omitted various rigorous mathematical calculations as well as descriptions of modern codes. This is good from the pedagogical standpoint. In general, the book by Vinson is a reader-friendly well-organised textbook in the field of mechanics of plates and panels. Each section includes a list of problems. It can be recommended to students of technological universities and institutes.