A new variational principle in elastodynamics (Q1087354)

Continuous displacement and equilibrating stresses constitute the admissible functions of the proposed variational functional and the extremum conditions of this functional enforce the satisfaction of the constitutive equations. The relationship between this functional and the classical variational statement is examined and it is shown that the principles of total potential energy and the complementary energy arise as subsets of the present variational statement. Some potential advantages of this formulation, for development of finite element models are pointed out. Applications of the proposed functional to elastostatic and electrodynamic problems are illustrated by some simple examples.