Forms and Concepts for Lightweight Structures

Understand the wide range of lightweight structures for civil and aerospace engineering applications with this in-depth introductory textbook.

Koryo Miura (Author), Sergio Pellegrino (Author)

9780521432740, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 March 2020

502 pages, 370 b/w illus.
25.3 x 18 x 2.9 cm, 0.93 kg

'In this book Miura (emer., Univ. of Tokyo and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Pellegrino (California Institute of Technology and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA) present a comprehensive look into lightweight structural design, organized into topical areas including truss, tension, shell, and sandwich structures, among many others. The book also delves into the area of deployable structures, that is, designs whose applications are heavily dependent on packaging and folding theories. Origami concepts are playing an ever-increasing role for the design of structures whose efficient transport before application is critical. Several references to origami research are sprinkled throughout the sections on folding. The extensive bibliography is only one of several appendixes. This book should be a valuable reference for students and structural designers interested in aeronautics and space applications.' H. I. Epstein, Choice

Covering a wide range of structural concepts and presenting both relevant theories and their applications to actual structures, this book brings together for the first time lightweight structures concepts for many different applications and the relevant scientific literature, thus providing unique insights into a fascinating field of human endeavour. Evolved from a series of graduate courses taught by the authors at the University of Tokyo, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, this textbook provides both theoretical and practical insights and presents a range of examples which also provide a history of key lightweight structures since the Apollo age. This essential guide will inspire the imagination of engineers and provide an analytical foundation for all readers.

Preface
1. Truss structures
2. Space frames
3. Tension structures
4. Tension-stabilized structures
5. Shell structures
6. Sandwich structures
7. Packaging of membranes
8. Concepts of deployable structures
9. Applications of deployable structures
10. Adaptive structures
Appendix A. Geometric foundations
Appendix B. Structural mechanics foundations
Appendix C. Essential bibliography
Appendix D. Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Aerospace & aviation technology [TRP], Structural engineering [TNC], Civil engineering, surveying & building [TN], Materials science [TGM], Technical design [TBD]