Stability of elastic, anelastic, and disintegrating structures: A conspectus of main results

The article attempts to review the main results in the vast field of stability of structures. The classical field of elastic stability is covered succinctly. The coverage emphasizes the modern problems of anelastic structures exhibiting plasticity and creep, and especially structures disintegrating due to localized fracture and distributed damage. The treatment encompasses thin or slender structures, i.e. the columns, frames, arches, thin-wall beams, plates, and shells, as well as massive but soft bodies buckling three-dimensionally, and includes the static as well as dynamic concepts of stability, dynamic instability of nonconservative systems, energy methods for discrete and continuous structures, thermodynamics of structures, postcritical behavior, and imperfection sensitivity. The legacy of Ludwig Prandtl, who is commemorated by the present Special Issue, is briefly highlighted. The mathematics is kept to the bare minimum, and the derivations as well as the differential equations are omitted. Main attention is paid to the physical causes, mechanisms, and results. Only the main literature sources to this vast field are cited.