Kyiv school of the theory of structures

Abstract

The paper presents a review of more than a century-long history of Kyiv school of the theory of structure, the foundation of which was laid by world-famous scientists V.L. Kirpichov and S.P. Tymoshenko. The birth of the Kyiv scientific school of the Theory of structures is associated in this paper with the establishment at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute the Strength of Materials Department. It is noted that further formation and development of the theory of structures was facilitated by the creation in 1918 of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Mechanics of the NAS of Ukraine, expansion of relevant research in higher education institutions, creation of new academic and sectoral research institutions, most of which is located in Kyiv. The contribution of Kiev scientists to the development of methods for analyzing spatial structures of bar and shell type, their inelastic behavior, as well as dynamics and stability is reflected. Particular attention is paid to the fundamentally new opportunities for the development of the theory of structures in the era of numerical analysis. The successes of Kiev mechanics in the field of development and improvement of structure analysis numerical methods, such as the finite difference method and various modifications of finite element methods, are emphasized. Kiev engineers and scientists are also known for their developments in the field of design and calculation of modern cable-stayed structures, as well as optimal design. The activities of the scientific school of structural mechanics of the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture are also covered in the review. In the final part of the paper the new issues connected with the justification of calculation models and the analysis of reliability of constructions are considered. Some of this problems are dictated by the demands of practice, in particular those that arosed in the process of Chernobyl New Safe Confinement designing. The publication contains a wide bibliography.