Publisher's Synopsis
This is a compilation of work analyzing the behaviour of spherical caps and related shell structures under various (axisymmetric) load systems. It specifically attempts to deal with the effects of multi-parameter load systems. In addition, the book presents an u nusual way to characterize properties of solutions of the governing equations for spherical caps - a classification anchored in a theory called "reciprocal systems". The authors have introduced a deformation map, a projection of multi-dimensional solutions to two-dimensional graphs, to enable analysts to gain insight into the physical meaning of the results obtained.;Numerous examples illustrate the concepts introduced. This book also comes to grips with many misconceptions existing in engineering literature about the question of the stability of solutions.
