A Simple Way to Represent Geometrical Imperfections by Means of an Equivalent Load*

摘要

A simple way of understanding initial geometrical imperfections in analytical models is presented. The effects of initial imperfections are introduced by an “equivalent” fictitious load vector, acting on the ideal design structure, whose characteristics are evaluated so as to qualitatively reproduce the behavioral characteristics of a different structure affected by an unknown distribution of small geometry variations with respect to the design structure. An approximate evaluation of the above-defined equivalent load is furnished and some numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and suggest practical applications.