There are two editions of this book- the 1998 version, and the 2005 version. The 2005 version contains later updates, but is stored chapter by chapter for easy editing on Ed's end.
And now for the dust jacket excerpt:
Professor Wilson has over sixty years of professional experience in Civil, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He was a Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley during the period 1965 to 1991 and has published over 180 papers and books. His research and development contributions have earned him many awards including the election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1985.
Professor Wilson wrote the first automated finite element analysis computer program in 1961 and was the original developer of the CAL, SAP and ETABS series of computer programs. These programs are noted for their accuracy, speed, use of very efficient numerical algorithms and accurate finite elements. During the past 40 years, Ed Wilson has worked as a Senior Consultant to CSI on the programming and documentation of these new methods of computational structural analysis.
The major purpose of this book is to summarize the theoretical development of the finite elements and numerical methods used in the latest versions of the SAP and ETABS programs. Most of the elements and numerical methods used in these programs are new and are not presented in current textbooks on structural analysis. In addition, the book summarizes the fundamental equations of mechanics.
A minimum mathematical background is required in order to completely understand the material presented in the book. However, an understanding of the physical behavior of real structures is essential. A computer programming background is not required.
A new three-dimensional quadrilateral SHELL element, with normal rotational degrees-of-freedom, is presented that is accurate for both thin and thick plates and shells. Therefore, shell elements can be easily connected to classical FRAME elements. The three-dimensional SOLID element can be used to model both fluids and solids.
Dynamic analysis is presented as a logical extension of static analysis in which inertia and damping forces are added to satisfy equilibrium at every point in time. The use of Load Dependent Ritz, LDR, vectors in a dynamic analysis produce far more accurate results than if the exact dynamic eigenvectors are used.
The use of LDR vectors allows the classical mode superposition method to be extended to nonlinear dynamic analysis by the use of the Fast Nonlinear Analysis, FNA, method. This new method of nonlinear, dynamic analysis allows structures, with a limited number of nonlinear elements, to be analyzed with almost the same computational time as required for a linear dynamic analysis of the same structure.
This is a must read book for all researchers and professionals working in the field of modern structural engineering.