A Global, Direct Algorithm for Path-Following and Active Static Control of Elastic Bar Structures*

Abstract

A method is presented by means of which the equilibrium path of any elastic bar structure may be traced globally, without applying iteration techniques. The basic idea is that the bar structure is reduced to a set of Initial Value Problems (IVPs) with parameters, and the equilibrium path is piecewise linearly interpolated in the parameter space. The way in which this method is capable of handling problems of active static control is demonstrated. The mathematical basis of this type of method is described by Allgower and Georg [1] as the Piecewise Linear (PL) algorithm. Here it is shown how this algorithm can be applied to problems in structural mechanics.