Symbolic computation in structural engineering

Abstract Nowadays computers can perform symbolic calculations––in addition to mere numerical computations for which they were originally designed––and this opens up exciting possibilities in structural engineering and mechanics. Until relatively recently, this computer-algebra option was hardly exploited except for a handful of pioneering enthusiasts. As symbolic computations are finally beginning to experience a reasonably widespread awareness––and usage––it seems timely to review their past applications to structural-mechanics problems and to point to areas where significant advances are yet to come. What emerges is a picture where areas of classical analysis––increasingly neglected since the advent of computers––now re-emerge as attractive computational options, as well as a more balanced view that no longer sees analytical techniques and numerical methods as incompatible opposites but combines their usage in a rational way.

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