RMA's uncovering of the Timoshenko error found to be of interest
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
RMA wrote an article detailing the uncovering of an error in Timoshenko's 'Theory of Plates and Shells. It was published in the IStructE's The Structural Engineer and in the US Structure Magazine. It is pleasing to see that practising engineers are taking notice:
Comment was also offered on these article in Engineering News Record:
"In the July 2016 issue of Structure magazine, an article reported that an error was found in Timoshenko’s thin plate theory. Authors Angus Ramsay and Edward Maunder prepared detailed finite element analyses of different shell configurations, and then they compared the results to what would be predicted by Timoshenko’s theory. Differences were found for some boundary conditions between the two, and the authors concluded that the theory was in error. The discrepancy was for a relatively minor condition, and it probably has had little impact, if any, on actual designs."
"Even so, the amount of study and analysis that supported the paper was impressive. The authors prepared a sophisticated finite element study and needed to understand what the software could and could not do. They needed to understand the mathematics and implications of Timoshenko’s theory. The problem they found was actually by accident- they weren’t even looking at this particular issue. So on top of everything else, the authors needed to be thinking outside the box and ready to evaluate technical issues beyond the scope of what they thought they were studying."
