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W T Koiter s Elastic Stability of Solids and Structures 1st
Edition Arnold M. A. Van Der Heijden Digital Instant
Download
Author(s): Arnold M. A. van der Heijden
ISBN(s): 9780521515283, 0511438095
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 1.60 MB
Year: 2008
Language: english
This page intentionally left blank
 W. T. KOITER’S ELASTIC STABILITY OF
SOLIDS AND STRUCTURES

This book deals with the elastic stability of solids and structures, for
which Warner Koiter was the world’s leading expert of his time. It
begins with fundamental aspects of stability, relating the basic notions
of dynamic stability to more traditional quasi-static approaches. The
book is concerned not only with buckling, or linear instability, but
most importantly with nonlinear postbuckling behavior and imperfec-
tion sensitivity. After laying out the general theory, Koiter applies the
theory to a number of applications, with a chapter devoted to each.
These include a variety of beam, plate, and shell structural problems
and some basic continuum elasticity problems. Koiter’s classic results
on the nonlinear buckling and imperfection sensitivity of cylindrical
and spherical shells are included. The treatments of both the funda-
mental aspects and the applications are completely self-contained. This
book was recorded as a detailed set of notes by Arnold van der Heij-
den from W. T. Koiter’s last set of lectures on stability theory at TU
Delft.

Arnold M. A. van der Heijden has his own consultancy, HESTOCON

Consultancy B.V. He received his master’s and Ph.D. degrees, with
honors, in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics under Pro-
fessor Koiter. He has been a technical and scientific staff member in the
Applied Mechanics Laboratory at Delft University of Technology, an
honorary research Fellow at Harvard University, a professor at Eind-
hoven Technical University, a board member of the Department of
Applied Mechanics of the Royal Dutch Institute for Engineers, and
co-editor (with J. F. Besseling) of the Koiter symposium book Trends
in Solid Mechanics. Dr. van der Heijden has worked on staff and con-
sulted for many corporations, including Royal Dutch Shell (Pernis and
The Hague), ABB Lummus Global, and as a project leader of ATEX
at General Electric Advanced Materials, SABIC, and Essent. He
has done gas explosion calculations for offshore platforms, including
structural analysis. He is currently working on improvements in safety
management for ProRail.
W. T. Koiter’s Elastic Stability of
Solids and Structures

Edited by

Arnold M. A. van der Heijden

Technische Universiteit Delft
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521515283
© Arnold van der Heijden 2009

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the

provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008

ISBN-13 978-0-511-43674-1 eBook (EBL)

ISBN-13 978-0-521-51528-3 hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy

of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
 Contents

Preface page vii

1. Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Discrete systems 1

2. Continuous Elastic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.1 Thermodynamic background 7
2.2 Theorems on stability and instability 11
2.3 The stability limit 18
2.4 Equilibrium states for loads in the neighborhood of the
buckling load 27
2.5 The influence of imperfections 41
2.6 On the determination of the energy functional for an elastic body 47

3. Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1 The incompressible bar (the problem of the elastica) 55
3.2 Bar with variable cross section and variable load distribution 59
3.3 The elastically supported beam 61
3.4 Simple two-bar frame 67
3.5 Simple two-bar frame loaded symmetrically 72
3.6 Bending and torsion of thin-walled cross sections
under compression 78
3.7 Infinite plate between flat smooth stamps 84
3.8 Helical spring with a small pitch 101
3.9 Torsion of a shaft 110
3.10 Torsion of a shaft with a Cardan (Hooke’s) joint 119
3.11 Lateral buckling of a beam loaded in bending 126
3.12 Buckling of plates loaded in their plane 137
3.13 Post-buckling behavior of plates loaded in their plane 158
3.14 The “von Kármán-Föppl Equations” 166

v
vi Contents

3.15 Buckling and post-buckling behavior of shells using shallow

shell theory 169
3.16 Buckling behavior of a spherical shell under uniform external
pressure using the general theory of shells 182
3.17 Buckling of circular cylindrical shells 201
3.18 The influence of more-or-less localized short-wave imperfections
on the buckling of circular cylindrical shells under
axial compression 221

Selected Publications of W. T. Koiter on Elastic Stability Theory 227

Index 229
 Preface

These lecture notes were made after Professor Koiter’s last official course at Delft’s
University of Technology, in the academic year 1978–79. Although these notes
were prepared in close collaboration with Professor Koiter, they are written in the
author’s style. The author is therefore fully responsible for possible errors.
This course covers the entire field of elastic stability, although recent develop-
ments in the field of stiffened plates and shells are not included. Hopefully, these
lecture notes reflect some of the atmosphere of Dr. Koiter’s unique lectures.

Delft, June 10, 2008 A. M. A. v. d. Heijden

vii
 1

Stability

1.1 Discrete systems

Consider a system with a finite number of degrees of freedom. The position of this
system is represented by a position vector q(q1 , q2 . . . qn ), where qi (i ∈ 1 . . . n) are
n independent coordinates. It is assumed that the system is holonomic, i.e., no rela-
tions exist between the derivatives of the coordinates, and scleronomic, i.e., the fac-
tor time is not explicitly needed in the description of the system.† Let q̇i be the gen-
eralized velocities. The kinetic energy T is then a homogeneous quadratic function
of the generalized velocities, and hence T can be written as
1
T= aij (q)q̇i q̇ j . (1.1.1)
2
When the system is non-sclerononic, terms linear in the velocities and a term inde-
pendent of q̇i must be added. The coefficient aij (q) is called the inertia matrix. The
forces acting upon the system can be expressed by a generalized force vector Q
defined by

Qi δqi = v.w., (1.1.2)

where the right-hand side stands for the virtual work of all the forces acting upon
the system. In general, this expression is not a total differential. However, for an
important class of problems, it is. Systems for which 1.1.2) is a total differential are
called conservative systems. In that case we have

Qi δqi = −δP (q) , (1.1.3)

where δP (q) is a total differential and P (q) is called the potential energy. In the fol-
lowing, we mainly restrict our attention to conservative systems because for elastic
systems, conservative forces play an important role.
Introducing a kinetic potential L defined by

L = T − P, (1.1.4)

† This implies that dq = q, k dq k.

1
2 Stability

the Lagrangian equations for a conservative system are

d ∂L ∂L
− i = 0, (i ∈ 1, . . . , n) . (1.1.5)
dt ∂q̇i ∂q̇
Using the expression (1.1.1), we may rewrite this equation to yield
d 1
(aij q̇i ) − ahk,i q̇h q̇k + P,i = 0, (1.1.6)
dt 2
where
∂ahk (q) ∂P (q)
ahk,i = , P,i =
∂qi ∂qi
However, it often happens that non-conservative forces are present (e.g., damping
forces). It is then advantageous to take these into account separately as follows:

Qi δqi = δP (q) + Q∗i δqi , (1.1.7)

where Q∗ is the vector of non-conservative forces. The equations of motion then

read
d ∂L ∂L
i
− i = Q∗i , (i ∈ 1 · · · n) . (1.1.8)
dt ∂q̇ ∂q̇
These are n second-order ordinary differential equations.
Let us now consider the stability of discrete systems. For a system to be in equi-
librium, the velocities (and hence the kinetic energy) have to vanish. This implies
that for a conservative system, we have

P,i = 0. (1.1.9)

In words: The potential energy has a stationary value.

By stability we mean that a small disturbance from the state of equilibrium does
not cause large deviations from this state of equilibrium. A disturbance from the
state of equilibrium implies that the velocities are nonzero or that the position dif-
fers from the equilibrium position. We can always choose our coordinate system
such that the equilibrium position is given by q = 0. Furthermore, we can always
choose the potential energy in such a way that it vanishes in the equilibrium posi-
tion. Doing so, we may write
1
P= P,ij (0) qi q j + · · · . (1.1.10)
2
To be able to give a more exact definition of stability, we need a measure to denote
the deviation from the state of equilibrium. Remembering that in equilibrium we
have q = q̇ = 0, a number ρ (q, q̇) is introduced with the following properties:

1) ρ (q, q̇) ≤ 0 for q = 0 or q̇ = 0,

2) ρ (q1 , q2 , q̇1 + q̇2 ) ≤ ρ (q1 , q̇1 ) ρ (q2 , q̇2 )
(triangle inequality), (1.1.11)
3) ρ (αq, αq̇) = |α| ρ (q, q̇) α ∈ R.
 1.1 Discrete systems 3

We are now in a position to define the following stability criterion.

An equilibrium position is stable if and only if for each positive number ε there
exists a positive number δ(ε) such that for all disturbances of the equilibrium at the
time t > 0, with ρ [q(0), q̇(0)] < δ, the motion for t > 0 satisfies ρ [q(t), q̇(t)] < ε.
Notice that the statement about stability depends on the measure that is used.
Different measures yield different criteria for stability. Notice further that different
measures may be used for t = 0 and t > 0. This freedom is of great importance for
applications. For example, suitable choices for ρ are

n 1/2
 n
ρ= (q ) +
i 2 i 2
(q̇ ) ,
i=1 i=1

   
ρ = max qi  + max q̇i  .

For a conservative system, T + P = constant. This well-known result can easily be

derived from Lagrange’s equations for a conservative, holonomic, and scleronomic
system. Multiplying the equations by q̇i , we obtain
d ∂L ∂L
q̇i i
− q̇i i = 0
dt ∂q̇ ∂q
or
 
d i ∂L ∂L ∂L
q̇ i − q̈i i − q̇i i = 0
dt ∂q̇ ∂q̇ ∂q
or
 
d i ∂L d
q̇ i − L = 0.
dt ∂q̇ dt
Using Euler’s theorem for homogeneous quadratic functions, we readily obtain
d d
(2T) − (T − P) = 0,
dt dt
from which follows

T + P = E, (1.1.12)

where E = T(t = 0) + P(t = 0). This equation enables us to make the following
statement about stability.

Theorem. The equilibrium is stable provided the potential energy is positive-definite.

To prove this theorem, we introduce the following norms:


n
q2 = (qi )2
i=1


n
q̇2 = (q̇i )2 .
i=1
4 Stability

Let d(c) denote the minimum of P(q) on the hypersphere  q  = c . P(q) is positive-
definite when d(c) is a monotonically increasing function of c on the sphere δ ≤ c <
R.

Proof. T + P = constant = E, T is positive or zero, and P is positive-definite.

Restrict the initial disturbance so that

 q (0) < c1 and E < d (c1 ) .

This means that T (t = 0) < d (c1 ). Because T + P < d (c1 ) and P is positive-definite,
it follows that T < d (c1 ) for all t. On the other hand, because T is positive or
zero, it follows that P < d (c1 ) for all t. A similar argument holds for a disturbance
 q̇(0)  < c 2 . Hence, we may choose an arbitrary (small) disturbance and the dis-
placements and velocities will always remain within definable bounds.

The converse of this theorem has not yet been proven in all generality. To see
some of the difficulties that are encountered, we consider the following example
(one degree of freedom):
−2
P(q) = e−q cos q−2 .

For q = 0, all the derivatives vanish. However, in the immediate vicinity of the ori-
gin there are always negative values of P. In spite of this, the system is stable for
sufficiently small disturbances.
Actual physical systems are never exactly conservative, i.e., there is always
some dissipation. The approximation by a conservative system is often a very good
approximation. In the presence of damping forces, we need the Lagrangian equa-
tions with an additional term for the non-conservative forces. Multiplying by q̇ i ,
d ∂L ∂L
q̇i − q̇i i = Q∗i q̇i , (i ∈ 1, . . . , n)
dt ∂q̇i ∂q
from which follows
d
(T + P) = Q∗i q̇i ≡ −D (q, q̇) . (1.1.13)
dt
Damping implies that the dissipation function D > 0 for q̇ = 0. We now make the
following assumptions:

1) The damping forces have the property that Q∗i → 0 for q̇  → 0.
2) D(q, q̇ i ) > 0 for q̇ = 0.
3) P (q) does not possess stationary values for  q̇  < c except at q = 0.

Systems satisfying these conditions are called pseudo-conservative. Notice that

because of restriction (1), dry friction forces are excluded.

Theorem. In the presence of (positive) damping forces, a system with an indefinite

potential energy is unstable.
 1.1 Discrete systems 5

Proof. If P is indefinite, consider a disturbance of the equilibrium configuration with

zero velocity and negative potential energy. The initial total energy is thus negative
and, as this configuration cannot be in equilibrium, motion must result, as a result
of which energy is dissipated. The total energy must decrease, so the system cannot
stay in the vicinity of the origin, which means that the equilibrium configuration is
unstable.

The great advantage of this stability theorem is that it does not involve the
kinetic energy, and hence the inertia matrix aij (q). For a conservative or pseudo-
conservative system, the stability criterion only depends on the potential energy
(a quasi-static criterion). In general, the stability problem is a dynamic problem,
and the kinetic energy plays an essential role. An example of such a problem is the
behavior of the wings of an airplane in an airflow. In this case, the forces do not
depend on only the geometry but also on the velocities.
For static loads, it is often sufficient to restrict oneself to conservative loads (e.g.,
deadweight loads). A more severe restriction for continuous systems is that we must
restrict ourselves to elastic systems, i.e., to systems where there is a potential for the
internal energy. Such a potential does not exist when plasticity occurs.
Let us now have a closer look at the stability problem. As mentioned previ-
ously, the stability criterion is fully determined by the potential energy P(q). In the
equilibrium position, we have chosen P (0) = 0 and q = 0 so that we may write
1 1
P (q) = P,ij (0) qi qj + · · · ≡ cij qi q j + · · · , (1.1.14)
2 2
where cij denotes the stiffness matrix in the equilibrium position. It follows that
when the stiffness matrix is positive-definite, P (q) is positive-definite and the system
is stable. If cij is indefinite (or negative-definite) then the system is unstable. If cij
is semi-definite-positive (i.e., non-negative and zero for at least a deflection in one
direction), then we must consider higher-order terms in the expansion for P. This
case is called a critical case of neutral equilibrium. We shall consider this case in
more detail.
It is convenient to transform the quadratic form (1.1.14) to a sum of quadratic
terms. If the form is positive-definite, then the coefficients in the transformed form
are all positive. Applying this transform to (1.1.14) and denoting the transformed
coordinates again by qi , we may write

1
n
P (q) = ci (qi )2 + · · · + () (q1 )3 + · · · . (1.1.15)
2
i=1

Further, we order the coefficients ci such that

c1 ≤ c2 ≤ c3 ≤ · · · ≤ cn .

We now consider the case c1 = 0, c2 > 0. Taking all qi = 0 (i > 1), the dominant
term will be (q1 )3 . This term can attain negative values, and hence the system will be
unstable. A necessary condition for stability is that the coefficient of (q1 )3 is equal
6 Stability

x = y2
f ( x, y) < 0
2
x = 2y
x

Figure 1.1.1

to zero. A further necessary condition for stability is that the coefficient of (q1 )4 is
positive. However, this condition is insufficient, as will be shown in the following
example. Consider the function

P = f (x, y) = (x − y2 )(x − 2y2 ) = x2 − 3xy2 + 2y4 . (1.1.16)

The graphs of the functions x − y2 = 0 and x − 2y2 = 0 are given in Fig. 1.1.1.
The function f (x, y) in an arbitrary small neighborhood of the origin takes on
both positive and negative values. In this case, the quadratic form in y vanishes at
the origin, and there is no cubic term, but the coefficient in the quartic term is posi-
tive. Hence, the necessary conditions for stability are satisfied. However, this system
is unstable because in an arbitrarily small neighborhood of the origin, P takes on
negative values.
The reason that the conditions mentioned here are not sufficient is that we have
restricted our investigation to straight lines through the origin (see Fig. 1.1.1). Fol-
lowing these straight lines, we always find only positive values in a sufficiently small
neighborhood of the origin. However, if we follow curved lines through the origin
(see the dashed lines), we easily find negative values. Once we have recognized the
reason why the conditions imposed are insufficient, it is easy to find a remedy. To
this end, we consider a line y = constant in the neighborhood of the origin, and we
minimize f (x, y) with respect to x, i.e.,

Min f (x, y) = x2 − 3xy21 + 2y41 . (1.1.17)

y=y1

This yields 2x − 3y21 = 0, and hence x = 3/2 y21 . Substitution of this value into f (x, y)
yields min f (x, y) = −1/4 y41 , which means that the function is indefinite.
In general, the function P is minimized with respect to qi (i > 1) for fixed q1 .
When the coefficient of (q1 )4 is positive-definite, the system is stable.
 2

Continuous Elastic Systems

2.1 Thermodynamic background

Consider a body that is in a state of equilibrium under conservative loads. Our aim
is to investigate this equilibrium state.
For an elastic body, the internal energy per unit mass may be represented by
U(s, γ), where s denotes the specific entropy and γ is the deformation tensor. Let
xi (i = 1, 2, 3) be the components of the position vector x, which describe the posi-
tion of a material point in the “fundamental state” I, which is to be investigated. Let
u(x) be the displacement vector from the fundamental state (u is a small but finite
displacement). The corresponding position in the “adjacent state” II is then x + u.
The (additional) deformation tensor is now defined by
1 1
γij = (ui,j + uj ,i ) + uh,i uh,j . (2.1.1)
2 2
The fact that the body has undergone deformations to arrive in the fundamental
state is unimportant because the state I is kept fixed.
The temperature T is now defined by
∂U
T= (2.1.2)
∂s
(γ is kept constant).
From (2.1.2) we obtain
∂T ∂2 U
= 2.
∂s ∂s
The specific heat of the material is now defined by
∂s
T = Cγ , (2.1.3)
∂T
where Cγ > 0 for a thermodynamically stable material. As ∂2 U/∂s2 is positive (non-
zero) we may solve (2.1.2) for s, which yields s = s(T, γ).
We now introduce the function F (T, γ), defined by

F (T, γ) = U − Ts. (2.1.4)

7
8 Continuous Elastic Systems

F (T, γ) is called the free energy.

Writing (2.1.4) as a total differential, we find (for fixed γ)
∂F ∂U
δT = δs − Tδs − sδT. (2.1.5)
∂T ∂s
Using (2.1.2) we find
∂F
s=− . (2.1.6)
∂T
Let us denote the temperature in the fundamental state (which by virtue of the
equilibrium state is equal to the temperature of its surroundings) by TI . A distur-
bance of the equilibrium state will cause a heat flux in the body. In the following,
we will assume that the temperature of the surrounding medium is constant (TI ).
Denoting the heat flux by q, the heat flux per unit time through a closed surface is

given by A q · n dA, where n denotes the unit normal vector on the surface, positive
in the outward direction. According to the second law of thermodynamics,† vheat
will flow out of the body when its surface temperature is higher than that of the
surrounding medium, i.e.,

(T − TI )q · n ≥ 0 (on the surface). (2.1.7)

The heat flux will cause an entropy flux. The entropy flux vector h is given by
1
h= q (per unit time and per unit area). (2.1.8)
T
For an arbitrary part of the body, the entropy balance is given by
 
ρṡ dV = h · n dA, (2.1.9)
V A

where ρ is the specific mass. This equation only holds in the absence of irreversible
processes in the body. When the state of the body also depends on the deformation
rates, irreversible processes will occur, which implies entropy production. In that
case, the entropy balance reads
  
ρṡ dV = h · n dA + ρσ dV, σ ≥ 0, (2.1.10)
V A V

where σ denotes the entropy production per unit time and mass. This is the more
general formulation of the second law of thermodynamics (Clausius-Duhem). The
first law of thermodynamics states that the total amount of heat that flows into a
body is transformed into internal energy.
Let PL [u (x (t))] be the potential energy of the external loads and let

1
K [u̇ (x (t))] = ρ u̇ · u̇ dV
2 V

† This is an early formulation by Clausius (1854).

 2.1 Thermodynamic background 9

be the kinetic energy. The total energy balance is then given by

 

d 
ρU (s, γ) dV + K [u̇ (x (t))] + PL [u (x (t))]
dt   (2.1.11)
V 
= − q (x (t)) · n dA, (1st law)
A

where we have a negative sign on the right-hand side of this equation because the
heat flux is regarded as positive in the outward direction.
To draw conclusions from the first and the second laws, we subtract (2.1.11)
from (2.1.10) multiplied by TI . This yields
 

d 
ρ [U (s, γ) − TI s] dV + K [u̇ (x (t))] + PL [u (x (t))]
dt  
V
    (2.1.12)
TI
= − 1 q · n dA − TI ρσ dV ≤ 0
T
V V

(Duhem, 1911).
Here we have made use of the relation
 
d
ρṡ dV = ρs dV (2.1.13)
dt
V V

The first term on the right-hand side of (2.1.12) is negative because the heat flux is
in the outward direction when T > TI , and the second term is negative because the
entropy production is always positive. The integral on the left-hand side of (2.1.12)
may be expressed in terms of the free energy. Using the relation
∂F
U (s, γ) − TI s = U (s, γ) − Ts + (T − TI ) s = F (T, γ) + (T − TI ) , (2.1.14)
∂T
we obtain
 
    
d ∂F
ρ F (T, γ) + (TI − T) dV + PL + K ≤ 0. (2.1.15)
dt  ∂T 
V

Duhem (1911) already discussed the stability of a system on the basis of this equa-
tion and came to the conclusion that a system is stable when the form between the
braces is positive-definite. In this form, K is a positive-definite function. However,
the terms between the square brackets depend on the deformation tensor and the
temperature, whereas PL depends on the displacement field. The problem is to sep-
arate the influence of the temperature and the displacement field. A straightforward
expansion
   
∂F 1 ∂2 F
F (T, γ) = F (TI , γ) + (T − TI ) + (T − TI )2 + · · ·
∂T TI 2 ∂T 2 TI
10 Continuous Elastic Systems

does not solve the problem. Following Ericksen (1965), we may write the Taylor
expansion of the free energy at constant deformation γ in the form
   
∂F 1 ∂2 F
F (TI , γ) = F (T, γ) + (TI − T) + (TI − T)2 , (2.1.16)
∂T T 2 ∂T 2 ∗
where the first derivative is evaluated at the deformation γ and temperature T, and
the second (starred) derivative at the deformation γ and an intermediate tempera-
ture T∗ = T + θ (TI − T), where 0 < θ < 1. Using (2.1.16) we may rewrite the term
between the square brackets in (2.1.15) as follows:
 
∂F 1 ∂2 F
F (T, γ) + (TI − T) = F (TI , γ) − (TI − T)2
∂T 2 ∂T2 ∗
(2.1.17)
1  cγ  2
= F (TI , γ) + (TI − T) ,
2 T ∗
where we have used the relation
∂s ∂2 F
cγ ≡ T = T 2.
∂T ∂T
The first term on the right-hand side of (2.1.17) depends only on the displacement
field. The second term is positive-definite. The energy balance may now be written
in the form
 
   
d 1 cγ 
ρF (TI , γ) dV + PL [u (x (t))] + K [u̇ (x (t))] + ρ (TI − T)2 dV ≤0.
dt  2 T ∗ 
V V
(2.1.18)

The last two terms in the left-hand member are positive-definite, and the remaining
terms depend only on the displacement field. Our energy balance is not affected
when we subtract from the expression between the braces a time-independent
quantity,

ρF (TI , 0) dV.
V

Further, we introduce the notation

W (γ) ≡ ρ [F (TI , γ) − F (TI , 0)] , (2.1.19)

where W (γ) is the (additional) stored elastic energy in the isothermal (additional)
deformation γ at constant temperature TI , from the fundamental state I to the cur-
rent state. The potential energy functional P is now defined by

P [u (x (t))] = W (γ) dV + PL [u (x (t))] . (2.1.20)
V

In words: The potential energy is equal to the sum of the increase of the elastic
energy for isothermal deformations and the potential energy of the external loads.
 2.2 Theorems on stability and instability 11

Hence, stability for the class of problems discussed depends on isothermal con-
stants.† The question of stabilty when TI is not constant is still unsolved (which is
important, for example, in problems with thermal stresses).

2.2 Theorems on stability and instability

In our discussion on the stability of discrete systems, we have seen that we need
measures to be able to specify expressions like “small disturbance” and “not large
deviations.” In our discussion of the stability of continuous systems, which is gov-
erned by the character of the potential energy, we need a measure for the displace-
ments. A suitable measure is the L2 -norm of the displacement field, defined by

 
u (x (t))2 = 1 ρ u (x (t)) · u (x (t)) dV, (2.2.1)
M
V

where M is the total mass of the elastic body. We shall employ the same measure
for the initial disturbance. We shall assume that the potential energy functional is
regular in the following sense. On every ball u = c in the function space of kine-
matically admissible displacement fields u (x (t)) where the radius c is sufficiently
small, the energy functional P [u (x (t))] has a proper minimum that is a continuous
function d(c) in the range of c under consideration. The potential energy functional
is called positive-definite if the function d(c) is a (positive) increasing function in a
range 0 ≤ c < c1 . The functional is called indefinite if the function d(c) is a (negative)
decreasing function for 0 ≤ c < c1 .
We are now in a position to formulate the stability criterion: The equilibrium
in the fundamental state is stable if the potential energy functional P [u (x (t))] is
positive-definite.
To show this, we introduce the notation

V [u (x (t)) , u̇ (x (t)) , T (x (t))] = P [u (x (t))]

   (2.2.2)
1 cγ
+K [u̇ (x (t))] + ρ (TI − T)2 dV,
2 T ∗
V

where V is the total energy.‡

† In the literature, one frequently encounters vague and loose statements to the effect that buckling
is “rapid” and that it is therefore “reasonable” to assume that the motion is adiabatic. This would
imply that elastic stability would be governed by the adiabatic elastic constants rather than by the
isothermal elastic properties. This reasoning is erroneous as follows from the foregoing analysis.
A simple example is a strut with pinned ends under a compressive load N. For sufficiently small
values of the compressive load the straight configuration is stable, and this stability is manifested
by a non-vanishing fundamental frequency. This frequency decreases when the critical Euler load
N1 is approached, and it vanishes for N1 . The motion at the critical load is thus infinitely slow, and
hence isothermal.
‡ Duhem called it the “ballistic energy.”
12 Continuous Elastic Systems

According to (2.1.18) we have dV/dt ≤ 0. Let the initial disturbance u (x (0))

satisfy the condition
 
u (x (0)) < α1 (2.2.3)

and let the total energy satisfy the condition

0 < V0 < d(α1 ), (2.2.4)

where V0 = V [u (x (0)) , u̇ (x (0)) , T (x (0))].

Because dV/dt < 0, it follows that P [u (x (t))] < d (α1 ), and hence u(x(t)) <
α1 .

In words: For a given, sufficiently small initial disturbance and a given total energy,
the displacements at t > 0 are bounded by the value of u (x(0)).
For an instability criterion, we need the following assumptions:

1. For nonvanishing deformation rates, the entropy production is positive.

2. In a sufficiently small neighborhood of the fundamental state, the potential
energy has no stationary values at a different energy level.

Under these additional conditions, the following theorem holds.

Theorem. If the potential energy functional is indefinite, the system is unstable.

To show this, we consider an initial disturbance u (x (0)), as small as we please,

in the region in function space where P [u (x)] is negative, and we select initial veloc-
ities and temperature variations that are both identically zero. The initial value V0 of
the total energy is then negative, and by (2.1.18) this energy will decrease until the
motion comes to a final stop. Because no equilibrium will be possible in the range
0 < c < c1 of u, it follows that this norm at some time must approach or exceed
the value c1 , no matter how small the initial disturbance has been chosen. It follows
that the equilibrium in the fundamental state is unstable.
The only case that is not covered by our discussion so far is the case d (c) = 0.
However, this case is not important because this condition never occurs in practical
problems.
The results obtained so far are not as useful as it may seem because so far it
has proved to be impossible to show that the elastic energy functional is positive-
definite, even for an elastic body without external loads. To state this problem more
clearly, we consider the potential energy in the elastic body

P [u (x (t))] = PLu (x (t)) + W (γ) dV, (2.2.5)
V

where the elastic potential W (γ) is expanded about its value in the fundamental
state
   2 
∂W 1 ∂W
W (γ) = γij + γij γk + · · · (2.2.6)
∂γij I 2 ∂γij ∂γk I
 2.2 Theorems on stability and instability 13

This expansion contains linear and quadratic terms in the strains, which in their
turn contain linear and quadratic terms in the derivatives of the displacements.
Consider now the displacement fields u = αu1 (x), where u1 (x) is a given (fixed)
displacement field and α is a positive number. Stability is now determined by α
for α → 0. Now consider all kinematically admissible displacement fields u1 (x). It
has been demonstrated that it is impossible to show that W is positive-definite on
this basis. We shall also need restrictions on the derivatives of the displacements.
Strictly speaking, this condition implies that we cannot use the stability criterion.
However, it can be shown that for an indefinite elastic energy functional, the system
is unstable.
Let us now consider the first term in (2.2.6). By virtue of

δW = Sij δγij , (2.2.7)

where Sij is a symmetric stress tensor, we have

   
1 ∂W ∂W ∂W
Sij = + ≡ . (2.2.8)
2 ∂γij ∂γj i I ∂γ(ij ) I

The potential energy may now be written as

 
1
P [u (x (t))] = Sij (ui,j + uj ,i + uh,i uh,j )
2
V
 2   (2.2.9)
1 ∂ W
+ γij γk + · · · dV + PL1 [u (x (t))] + PL2 [u (x (t))] + · · · ,
2 ∂γij ∂γk I

where we have expanded the potential of the external loads,

PL [u (x (t))] = PL1 [u (x (t))] + PL2 [u (x (t))] + · · · , (2.2.10)

where PL1 is linear in u, PL2 is quadratic in u, and so forth.

Because the fundamental state I is an equilibrium state, the first variation of P
must vanish for all kinematically admissible displacement fields, which implies

1
P1 [u (x (t))] = Sij (ui,j + uj ,i ) dV + PL1 [u (x (t))] = 0. (2.2.11)
2
V

Hence (2.2.9) may be written as

   2  
1 1 ∂ W
P [u (x (t))] = Sij uh,i uh,j + γij γk + · · · dV + PL2 [u (x (t))] + · · ·
2 2 ∂γij ∂γk I
V
(2.2.12)

In the remaining part of these lectures, we shall restrict ourselves to dead-weight

loads, unless mentioned otherwise. Thus,

Pd.w.L [u (x (t))] = PL1 [u (x (t))] , (2.2.13)

14 Continuous Elastic Systems

so that the discussion of stability is focused on the integral in (2.2.12). We now define
a tensor of elastic moduli
 
∂2 W
EIijk ≡ , (2.2.14)
∂γ(ij ) ∂γ(k ) I

where W is written symmetrically with respect to γij and γk . Notice that this is not
the tensor of elastic moduli that is usually used in the theory of elasticity because
that tensor is defined by
 
∂2 W
Eijk ≡
0
, (2.2.15)
∂γ(ij ) ∂γ(k ) 0

where the index 0 indicates that the second derivatives of W must be evaluated in
the undeformed state. Then the tensor of elastic moduli for a homogeneous isotropic
material is given by
 
2ν
E0ijk = Gγ δikδj + δi δjk + δij δk . (2.2.16)
1 − 2ν
This tensor gives a complete description of the elastic material when the elastic
potential is given as
1 0 0 0
W0 = E γ γ , (2.2.17)
2 ijk ij k
i.e., when W 0 is a homogeneous quadratic form in the strain components. Notice
that here we have used Cartesian coordinates in the undeformed state. The defor-
mation tensor is
1
γij = (ui,j + uj ,i + uh,i uh,j ) , (2.2.18)
2
where u now denotes the displacements with respect to the undeformed configura-
tion and (),i = ∂ () /∂xi , where xi are Cartesian coordinates. The description of W 0
by (2.2.17) is in principle only valid for infinitesimally small strains, and even then
only the linear terms in the strain tensor are important. The expression for the elas-
tic potential may now be generalized by assuming that for finite strains (where the
quadratic terms in γij may become important), the elastic potential can still be rep-
resented by a quadratic function. The fact that quadratic terms in the strain tensor
may become important even when the linearized strain tensor θij ,

1
θij ≡ (ui,j + uj ,i ) , (2.2.19)
2
 
is small is immediately clear from the fact that θij  1 does not imply that the
linearized rotation tensor
1
ωij ≡ (ui,j − uj ,i ) (2.2.20)
2
is small.
 2.2 Theorems on stability and instability 15

The variation of W for a small disturbance from the equilibrium configuration

is given by
1
δW = E0ijk γij0 δγk0 + E0ijk δγij0 δγk0 (2.2.21)
2
(with respect to Cartesian coordinates in the undeformed configuration).
Notice that Cartesian coordinates in the undeformed configuration become
curvilinear coordinates in the fundamental state I, and vice versa. It is always possi-
ble, at least in principle, to find curvilinear coordinates in the undeformed configu-
ration that become Cartesian coordinates in the fundamental state I. In a curvilinear
system, the variation of W is given by

αβλµ 0 1 αβλµ 0 0
δW = E0 0
γαβ δγλµ + E0 δγαβ δγλµ , (2.2.22)
2
where the contravariant components of the tensor of elastic moduli are given by
 
βµ αµ βλ 2ν αβ λµ
Eαβλµ = G gαλ g + g g + g g . (2.2.23a)
0 0 0 0
1 − 2ν 0 0
The difference of the metric tensors in the undeformed configuration and in the
fundamental state is
ij
g0 − δij = O (ε) ,

where ε is largest principal extension in the fundamental state. Hence it follows that

Eαβλµ = E0ijk [1 + O (ε)] (2.2.23b)

so that
1 αβλµ 0 0 1
E γαβ γλµ = EIijk γij γk [1 + O (ε)]
2 0 2
and hence
1 I 1
Eijk γij γk ≈ Eijk γij γk > 0, (2.2.24)
2 2
where Eijk is the tensor of elastic moduli that is used in the theory of elasticity. The
fact that we have approximated the elastic energy with a relative error of O (ε) does
not affect the positive-definite character of the potential energy if the first term in
the potential energy (2.2.12) is also multiplied by a factor (1 ± ε).

Remarks

1. For large elastic deformations, the approximation (2.2.23b) is not valid

because then ε is large. This can occur, e.g., in rubber-like materials.
2. The fact that we have approximated the elastic energy by a quadratic func-
tion in the strains with the classical tensor of elastic moduli implies that we
may also apply additional approximations used in the theory of elasticity,
e.g., beam theory, plate, and shell theories.
16 Continuous Elastic Systems

Example. Consider a simply supported strut, loaded in compression by a force

N.

ϕ
x
N w N

x
u*
Figure 2.2.1

In the engineering approach, the strut is usually assumed to be inextensible.

We have the following relations:
dw dϕ
sin ϕ = ≡ w cos ϕ ≡ w
dx dx
 dϕ w
cos ϕ = 1 − w2 =κ= √
dx 1 − w2
 
u∗ = − 1 − w2 dx.
0

For an inextensible strut, the potential energy is

   
1 w2
P [w (x)] = EI dx + N 1 − w2 − 1 dx. (2.2.25)
2 1 − w2
0 0

Notice that now the potential energy of the external loads is a nonlinear function
of the displacement, in contradistinction to what we have used in our theory.
This is due to the fact that we have used an auxiliary condition; namely we have
assumed that the strut is inextensible, which means
  
1 + u2 + w2 = 1 or u = 1 − w2 − 1.

In this case, we may say that buckling occurs when the energy supplied by the
loads is equal to the strain energy in bending. This may not be generalized.

Returning to the general theory and restricting ourselves to dead-weight loads

and to materials that follow the generalized Hooke’s Law, we may write
  
1 1
P [u (x)] = Sij uh,i uh,j + Eijk γij γk dV, (2.2.26)
2 2
V

where the strain tensor is given by

1  1
γij = ui,j + uj ,i + uh,i uh,j ≡ θij + uh,i uh,j . (2.2.27)
2 2
 2.2 Theorems on stability and instability 17

The potential energy functional may now be written as (only for dead-weight loads)
  
1 1
P [u (x)] = Sij uh,i uh,j + Eijk θij θk dV
2 2
V
 
1   1
+ Eijk θij um,kum, + Eijk θk uh,i uh,j dV + Eijk uh,i uh,j um,kum, dV,
2 8
V V
(2.2.28)

where we have arranged the terms so that the integrants contain only terms of sec-
ond, third, and fourth degree, respectively, in the displacements. Writing

P [u (x)] = P2 [u (x)] + P3 [u (x)] + P4 [u (x)] (2.2.29)

and using the fact that Eijk = Ek ij , we have


1  
P2 [u (x)] = Sij uh,i uh,j + Eijk θij θk dV
2
V

1
P3 [u (x)] = Eijk θij um,kum, dV (2.2.30)
2
V

1
P4 [u (x)] = Eijk uh,i uh,j um,kum, dV.
8

A positive-definite energy functional means P2 + P3 + P4 ≥ 0. However, because

P3 and P4 contain only higher-order terms, it is usually sufficient to consider only
P2 . P2 [u (x)] must be positive-definite for all kinematically admissible displacement
fields u (x). When ui and ui,j are sufficiently small, then P2 [u (x)] > 0 is a sufficient
condition for stability. (No rigorous proof is offered here.)
The limiting case that min P2 [u (x)] = 0 for a nonzero displacement field u1 (x)
is called a critical case of neutral equilibrium. P2 is called the second variation, and
u1 (x) is called the buckling mode.
In the following, we shall argue that this case is only possible in slender con-
structions. To see this, we first notice that according to (2.2.19) and (2.2.20) we may
write

ui,j = θij − ωij (2.2.31)

so that

Sij uh,i uh,j = Sij θhi θhj − 2Sij θhi ωhj + Sij ωhi ωhj . (2.2.32)

The components of the stress tensor Sij are small compared to those of the tensor
of elastic moduli Eijk , which are of O(G) where G is the shear modulus. In the
elastic range (for engineering materials) the strains must be small so that only terms
involving the rotations might compete with terms with Eijk . This is only possible
for large rotations, so the last term in (2.2.32) is the principle term. To show that the
18 Continuous Elastic Systems

construction under consideration must be slender, we write

1 1 1
ωij ,k = (ui,j − uj ,i )k = (ui,jk − uj ,ik) = (uj ,k − uk,j )i
2 2 2
(2.2.33)
1
− (ui,k + uk,i )j = θjk,i − θik,j .
2
For a sufficiently supported construction,
ω
ωij ,k = O ,

where is a characteristic length of the construction. Large values of one or more

components of the rotation tensor are only possible if one or more strains are of
order (ω/ ) ∗ where ∗ / 1. This condition means that the construction has a
second characteristic length ∗ that is considerably smaller than . This implies that
the construction is slender (e.g., beams, plates, shells).
A rigorous mathematical proof of this scenario was given by Fritz John. He
showed that when γij = O(ε), ε 1, and the dimensions of a body are all of the
same order of magnitude, the rotation vector is given by

ω = ω0 + O (ε)

where ω0 is a constant rotation vector. For an adequately supported construction,

this means that

ω = O(ε),

i.e., the rotations and the strains are of the same order of magnitude.

2.3 The stability limit

For conservative dead-weight loads, and under the assumption that the material
follows the generalized Hooke’s Law, the potential energy is given by
  
1 1
P [u (x)] = Sij uh,i uh,j + Eijk γij γk dV. (2.3.1)
2 2
As discussed in Section 2.2, stability is primarily determined by the character of P2 ,
given by
  
1 1
P2 [u (x)] = Sij uh,i uh,j + Eijk θij θk dV. (2.3.2)
2 2
If the second variation is positive-definite, the equilibrium is stable, and if the
second variation is indefinite (or negative-definite), the equilibrium is unstable. The
second variation is unable to give a valid decision on the stability of instability in the
critical case that it is semi-definite positive. Let u (x) be a minimizing displacement
field. Then

P2 [u (x) + εζ(x)] ≥ P2 [u (x)] (2.3.3)

for all kinematically admissible displacement fields ζ(x) and for sufficiently small
values of ε ∈ R. Here and in the following it will be assumed that ζ is continuously
 2.3 The stability limit 19

differentiable. Expanding the left-hand side in (2.3.3), we obtain

P2 [u] + P11 [u, εζ] + P2 [εζ] ≥ P2 [u] , (2.3.4)

where we have written u instead of u (x) and so on, from which

εP11 [u, ζ] + ε2 P2 [ζ] ≥ 0 for ∀ζ

(2.3.5)
and ∀ε ∈ R, |ε| 1.
Because this expression must hold for all sufficiently small values of |ε|, it follows
that

P11 [u, ζ] = 0. (2.3.6)

This equation is the variational equation for neutral equilibrium. From the func-
tional (2.3.2), we now obtain for the bilinear term
  
1
P11 [u, ζ] = Sij uh,i ζh,j + Eijk θij (ζk, + ζ ,k) dV, (2.3.7)
2
where ζk are the Cartesian components of ζ.
Due to the symmetry of Eijk in the indices k , we may write
1
Eijk θij · (ζk, + ζ ,k) = Eijk θij ζk, .
2
Further, we introduce the notation

Eijk θij = σk . (2.3.8)

Here σk are the stresses corresponding to the linearized strain tensor in the absence
of prestresses. Thus (2.3.7) may now be rewritten as

(Sij uh,j + σhj ) ζh,j dV = 0, (2.3.9)

and using the divergence theorem we obtain

 
(Sij uh,i + σhj ) ζh nj dA − (Sij uh,i + σhj ),j ζh dV = 0 for ∀ζ. (2.3.10)
AP V

According to the principal theorem in the calculus of variations, we then must have

(Sij uh,i + σhj ),j = 0 in V,† (2.3.11)

(Sij uh,j + σhj ) nj = 0 on AP , ui = 0, on Au . (2.3.12)

‡
 
Suppose (2.3.11) does not hold in a point x∗ , say, Sij uh,i + σhj j > 0. Then choose
    2   

 xi − x∗i xi − x∗i − R2 for xi − x∗i  xi − x∗i  ≤ R2
ζ= 0 ∗
for xi − xi xi − xi ≥ R2∗



and thus, the surface integral in (2.3.10) vanishes. However, the volume integral is positive, so
(2.3.10) is violated, and hence (2.3.11) must hold.
20 Continuous Elastic Systems

Sy S
yx
Sy σy

Syx rxy τyx Sxy

τxy Sx
ψ/ 2

) dy
Sxy
Sx σx

y
(1 + ε
dy ψ/ 2
) dx rxy
dx
(1 + ε x ψ/ 2
ψ/ 2 ω

I II III
Fundamental State No Rotation Final State
Figure 2.3.1

Notice that in the absence of prestresses Sij , these equations reduce to the equations
from the classical theory of elasticity. Performing differentiation by parts, we obtain
from (2.3.11)

Sij ,j uh,i + Sij uh,ij + σhj ,j = 0. (2.3.13)

The equilibrium equations and boundary conditions in the fundamental state I are
given by

Sij ,j + Xi = 0 in V
, (2.3.14)
Sij nj = Pi on Ap

where Xi are the mass forces and Pi are prescribed tractions on Ap . Using these
expressions, we can rewrite (2.3.12) and (2.3.13) as

− Xi uh,i + Sij uh,ij + σhj ,j = 0 in V (2.3.15)

p i uh,i + σhj nj = 0 on Ap , ui = 0 on Au . (2.3.16)

These equations and boundary conditions were derived for the first time by Trefftz
(1930, 1933).
Different but equivalent equations were derived earlier by Biezeno and
Hencky (cf. C.B. Biezeno and R. Grammel, Engineering Dynamics, Vol. I). We
shall reproduce here their derivation for the two-dimensional case (to simplify the
analysis).
Consider a rectangular material element with dimensions dx and dy in the fun-
damental state, loaded by stresses Sx , Sy , and Sxy (see Figure 2.3.1).
The final state is reached in two steps: First, a deformation without a rotation
of the deformed element (state II), and then a rotation of the deformed element
(state III).
In state II, the element will not be in moment equilibrium under the forces
Sx , Sy , and Sxy acting on the deformed element. To restore equilibrium (to a first
approximation), we add additional (small) forces σx , σy , and τxy (τxy = τyx ). These
additional forces do not enable us to satisfy the equilibrium of moments exactly.
 2.3 The stability limit 21

To reach this goal, skew-symmetric shear forces rxy (ryx = −rxy ) must be added. It is
obvious that the final rotation does not disturb the equilibrium of moments.
The equilibrium of moments requires
1
Sx dy dx ψ+ Syx dx (1 + εy ) dy − Sxy dy (1 + εx ) dx
2
1
− Sy dx ψdy − rxy dy dx − rxy dx dy = 0,
2
from which follows
1
2rxy = ψ(Sx + Sy ) + Sxy (εy − εx ) . (2.3.17)
2
The equilibrium of forces yields

(Sx + σx − Sxy ω) , x + (Syx + τyx − rxy − Sy ω) , y + X = 0

(2.3.18)
(Sy + σy − Syx ω) , y + (Sxy + τxy − rxy − Sx ω) , x + Y = 0.

In the fundamental state, we have

Sx,x + Syx,y + X = 0
(2.3.19)
Sy,y + Sxy,x + Y = 0.

Substitution of these equations into (2.3.18) and using the relation (2.3.17) yields
1 1
σx,x + τyx,y − (Sxy ω) ,x − (Sy ω) ,y − [ψ(Sx − Sy )] ,y − [Sxy (εy − εx )] ,y = 0
4 2 (2.3.20)
1 1
τxy,x + σy,y + (Syx ω) ,y + (Sx ω) ,x + [ψ(Sx − Sy )] ,x + [Sxy (εy − εx )] ,x = 0.
4 2
With ω = 12 (v,x −u,y ) and ψ = v,x +u,y , for the first of the equations we finally
obtain (2.3.20)
   
1 1
σx,x + τyx,y − Sxy (v,x −u,y ) − Sy (v,x −u,y )
2 ,x 2 ,y
(2.3.21)
1 1
− [(v,x + u,y ) (Sx − Sy )],y − [Sxy (v,y − u,x )],y = 0.
4 2
The general result from Biezeno and Hencky may be written in the form
 
1 1
σij + Shi θhj − Shj θhi + Sih ωhj =0 (2.3.22)
2 2 ,i

or rewritten as
 
1 1
σij + Shi (θhj + ωhj ) − Shi θhj − Shj θhi = 0
2 2 ,i

or
 
1 1
σij + Shi uj ,h − Shi θhj − Shj θhi = 0. (2.3.23)
2 2 ,i
22 Continuous Elastic Systems

(Equation 2.3.21) is the two-dimensional form of (2.3.22) for j = 1. Our earlier

result (2.3.11) was

(σij + Shi uj ,h ),i = 0. (2.3.24)

The additional terms in (2.3.23) can easily be derived from the variational approach
by adding to the energy density the term 12 Shi θhj θij . This is small, of order O(ε) com-
pared to 12 Eijk θij θk , in which we had already admitted a relative error of O(ε).
Hence it follows that the equations for neutral equilibrium derived by Biezeno
and Hencky and those derived by Trefftz are equivalent within the scope of our
theory.
We now continue with our general discussion of neutral equilibrium, and we
consider the case that

P2 [u (x)] ≥ 0, P2 [u1 (x)] = 0,

where u1 (x) is the buckling mode. The question now arises whether u1 is the only
kinematically admissible displacement field for which P2 [u (x)] vanishes. To investi-
gate this condition we might look for additional solutions of the equations of neutral
equilibrium, but it proves to be more useful to proceed as follows. Consider the set
of orthogonal (kinematically admissible) displacement fields. To define orthogonal-
ity, we introduce the positive-definite auxiliary functional

T2 [u (x)] ≥ 0. (2.3.25)

This functional defines the measure in the energy space. Applying similar arguments
as in the discussion of P2 , we find that the bilinear term must vanish,

T11 [u (x) , v (x)] = 0, (2.3.26)

which defines the orthogonality of u and v.

A possible choice for T2 is

1
T2 [u] = Gui,j ui,j dV, (2.3.27)
2
V

where the integrant is a positive-definite quadratic function of the displacement gra-

dients. The factor G has been added to give T2 the dimension of energy. The van-
ishing of the bilinear term yields

G ui,j vi,j dV = 0. (2.3.28)
V

Another suitable choice is


1
T2 [u] = ρui ui dV, (2.3.29)
2
V
 2.3 The stability limit 23

where ρ is the mass density. This choice is motivated by Rayleigh’s principle for the
determination of the lowest eigenfrequency of small vibrations about an equilibrium
configuration, which states
P2 [u (x)]
ω2 = Min  1
. (2.3.30)
2
ρui ui dV
V

In the critical case of neutral equilibrium, ω vanishes, which means that the motion
is infinitely slow. It will turn out that the results are independent of the particular
choice for T2 .†
An arbitrary displacement field can always be written in the form
u (x) = a u1 (x) + u (x) , T11 [u1 , u] = 0. (2.3.31)
Namely,
T11 [u1 , u] = a T11 [u1 , u1 ] + T11 [u1 , u] ,
where the last term vanishes by virtue of (2.3.31). It follows that
T11 [u1 , u] T11 [u1 , u]
a= = , (2.3.32a)
T11 [u1 , u1 ] 2T2 [u1 ]
where we have used the relation
T2 [u1 + u1 ] = T2 [2u1 ] = 4T2 [u1 ] = T2 [u1 ] + T11 [u1 , u1 ] + T2 [u1 ] .
The second variation for an arbitrary displacement field can now be written as
P2 [u] = P2 [au1 + u] = a2 P2 [u1 ] + aP11 [u1 , u] + P2 [u] , (2.3.32b)

where the first term on the right-hand side vanishes because u1 is the buckling mode,
and the second term vanishes because P11 vanishes for all displacement fields, and
hence also for displacement fields orthogonal to u1 . In other words, it follows that
when P2 [u] = 0 for u = u1 , P2 [u] also vanishes for a displacement field orthogonal
to u1 . We may thus restrict ourselves to displacement fields that are orthogonal to
u1 . As P2 [αu] → 0 for α → 0, it is more suitable to consider the following minimum
problem:
P2 [u (x)]
Min = λ2 , (2.3.33)
T11 [u1 ,u]=0 T2 [u (x)]
where λ2 is the minimum of the left-hand member. If λ2 = 0, then we have a second
buckling mode, and when λ2 > 0, u1 is then the unique buckling mode. Let u2 be the
second buckling mode; then
P2 [u2 + εη] P2 [u2 ]
≥ = λ2 (2.3.34)
T2 [u2 + εη] T2 [u2 ]
and
T11 [u2 , u1 ] = T11 [η, u1 ] = 0. (2.3.35)

† See following equation (3.3.55).

24 Continuous Elastic Systems

Rewriting (2.3.34), we find

 
P2 [u2 ] + εP11 [u2 , η] + ε2 P2 [η] ≥ λ2 T2 [u2 ] + εT11 [u2 , η] + ε2 T2 [η]

where P2 [u2 ] − λ2 T2 [u2 ] = 0, so that

   
ε P11 [u2 , η] − λ2 T2 [u2 , η] + ε2 P2 [η] − λ2 T2 [η] ≥ 0. (2.3.36)

Because this equation must hold for arbitrary small values of ε, the term linear in ε
must vanish, i.e.,

P11 [u2 , η] − λ2 T2 [u2 , η] = 0 (2.3.37)

for all displacement fields with T11 [u1 , η] = 0. In this condition, the displacement
field η is orthogonal to u1 . In our original condition of P11 [u, ζ] = 0, ζ was not sub-
mitted to this requirement. We shall now show that (2.3.37) also holds for arbitrary
displacement fields ζ. To show this, we write ζ = tu1 + η, whereη satisfies the orthog-
onality condition. Replacing η in (2.3.37) by ζ, we find

P11 [u2 , tu1 + η] − λ2 T11 [u2 , tu1 + η]

= tP11 [u2 , u1 ] + P11 [u2 , η] − λ2 tT11 [u2 , u1 ] − λ2 T11 [u2 , η]

  (2.3.38)
= t P11 [u2 , u1 ] − λ2 T11 [u2 , u1 ] + P11 [u2 , η] − λ2 T11 [u2 , η]

= P11 [u2 , η] − λ2 T11 [u2 , η] = 0

It follows that without a loss of generality we may restrict ourselves to displacement

fields that are orthogonal to the ones that are already known.
Suppose we have found m linearly independent solutions. The solution of
P11 [u, ζ] = 0 can then be written as

u (x) = ah uh , h ∈ (1, . . . m) with T11 [uh , uk] = 0 for h = k.

Further, we may normalize the buckling modes by requiring

T11 [u1 , u1 ] = · · · = T11 [um, um] = 1. (2.3.39)

To investigate the stability of the critical case of neutral equilibrium, we write for an
arbitrary displacement field u (x)

u (x) = ah uh (x) + u (x) , T11 [u, uk] = 0 k ∈ (1, 2, . . . , m) . (2.3.40)

This is always possible, namely,

T11 [uk, u] = T11 [uk, ah , uh + u] = ah T11 [uk, uh ] + T11 [uk, u] = ak. (2.3.41)

A substitution of (2.3.40) into the energy functional yields

P [u (x)] = P2 [ah uh + u] + P3 [ah uh + u] + P4 [ah uh + u] + · · ·

= P2 [ah uh ] + P11 [ah uh , u] + P2 [uh ]
(2.3.42)
+ P3 [ah uh ] + P21 [ah uh , u] + P12 [ah uh , u] + P3 [u]
+ P4 [ah uh ] + P31 [ah uh , u] + P22 [ah uh , u] + P13 [ah uh , u] + P4 [u] + · · ·.
 2.3 The stability limit 25

When the material follows the generalized Hooke’s Law, the expansion terminates
after P4 [u]; in other cases, higher-order terms follow. Because uh are buckling
modes, the first term on the right-hand side vanishes, P11 [ah uh , ζ] = 0, for all dis-
placement fields ζ, and hence also for u. Because we have already found m buckling
modes, P2 [u] must satisfy the relation

P2 [u] ≥ λm+1 T2 [u] , λm+1 > 0. (2.3.43)

Let us now first consider the case that u = ≡ 0. We then only have to deal with the
terms P3 [ah uh ] and P4 [ah uh ]. A necessary condition for stability is that P3 [ah uh ]
vanishes and that P4 [ah uh ] ≥ 0. Hence it follows that from the mathematical point
of view, systems will generally be unstable because functions for which P2 = P3 =
0 and P4 ≥ 0 are exceptions. However, in applications this often happens due to
the symmetry of the structure. The conditions mentioned are necessary conditions;
to obtain sufficient conditions, we consider small values of u. In fact, the stability
conditions must be satisfied for small deviations from the fundamental state.
Suppose now that the necessary conditions are satisfied; thus the most important
terms in (2.3.42) are

P2 [u] , P21 [ah uh , u] , P4 [ah uh ] ,

namely, for u = O(a(h) , u(h) 2 ) these terms are of the same order of magnitude,
whereas all other terms have integrands of order O(a(h) , u(h) n ), n ≥ 5.
We now first consider the minimum problem,

Min (P2 [u] + P21 [ah uh , u]) . (2.3.44)

T11 [uk,u]=0
ak const.
k∈(1,...,m)

This is a meaningful minimum problem because P2 is a positive-definite functional

and P21 is a functional linear in u. Let u = v be the solution to this problem; thus for
a variation of this field v + εη we have

P2 [v] + εP11 [v, η] + ε2 P2 [η] + P21 [ah uh , v] + εP21 [ah uh , η] ≥ P2 [v] + P21 [ah uh , v]

or

ε (P11 [v, η] + P21 [ah uh , η]) + ε2 P2 [η] ≥ 0. (2.3.45)

Because this inequality must hold for all sufficiently small values of ε, it follows that

P11 [v, η] + P21 [ah uh , η] = 0, (2.3.46)

which is an equation for v.

To answer the question of whether the solution to (2.3.44) is unique, we consider
a second solution v∗ . Subtracting the equation obtained from (2.3.46) by replacing v
with v∗ , from (2.3.46) we find

P11 [v − v∗ , η] = 0. (2.3.47)
26 Continuous Elastic Systems

By arguments similar to those following (2.3.37), we may also replace η by ζ, where

ζ is an arbitrary displacement field.† Further, we have

T11 [ah uh , v − v∗ ] = 0, (2.3.48)

i.e., v − v∗ is orthogonal with respect to the linear combination of buckling modes,

and due to (2.3.47),

P2 [v − v∗ ] = 0. (2.3.49)

However, this result contradicts our assumption (2.3.43) that λm+1 > 0. This com-
pletes our proof that v is unique.
Equation (2.3.46) is quadratic in the buckling modes but linear in v, so the solu-
tion can be written as

v (x) = ah akvhk (x) , vhk = vkh . (2.3.50)

Substitution of this expression into (2.3.46) yields

1
P11 [vhk, ζ] + P111 [uh , uk, ζ] = 0, (2.3.51)
2
where we have used the relation
1
P21 [ah uh ; ζ] = ah akP111 [uh , uk, ζ] .
2
For a known field v = ah akvhk, we may now determine the minimum value of the
energy functional (2.3.42). Only retaining the most important terms, we find

Min P11 [u] = P4 [ah uh ] + P2 [ah akvhk] + P21 [ah uh , aka vk ] + · · · . (2.3.52)
ak=const.

Using (2.3.46) with ζ = ah akvhk and making use of the relation

P11 [ah akvhk, a amv m] = 2P2 [ah akvhk] ,

we find

2P2 [ah akvhk] + P21 [ah uh , aka vk ] = 0 (2.3.53)

so that (2.3.52) may be rewritten to yield

Min P [u] = P4 [ah uh ] − P2 [ah akvhk] + · · ·

(ak=const.)
(2.3.54)
1
= P4 [ah uh ] + P21 [ah uh , aka vk ] + · · · .
2
It follows that the (necessary) condition P4 [ah uh ] ≥ 0 is not a sufficient con-
dition, because a positive-definite term P2 [ah akvhk] is subtracted. Introducing the
notation

P4 [ah uh ] − P2 [ah akvhk] ≡ Aijk ai aj ak a , (2.3.55)

† The equation with ζ is preferable because then we do not have the side condition of orthogonality.
 2.4 Equilibrium states for loads in the neighborhood of the buckling load 27

our results may be summarized as follows:

r Aijk ai aj aka ≥ 0 is a necessary condition for stability, and

r A a a a a as positive-definite (i.e., zero only for a displacement field u = 0 ) is
ijk i j k
a sufficient condition for stability.

We shall now show that the results obtained are independent of the particu-
lar choice of the auxiliary functional T2 . Let T2∗ be a positive-definite functional
(T2∗ = T2 ), so then we may construct a minimizing displacement field

u∗Min = ah akv∗hk (x) . (2.3.56)

This field satisfies the same equations as the field v = ah akvhk(x) but is subjected to
a different orthogonality condition. The difference of these fields must satisfy the
homogeneous variational equation

P11 [vhk − v∗hk, ζ] = 0, (2.3.57)

which means that vhk − v∗hk is a linear combination of buckling modes, say

vhk − v∗hk = chk u , (2.3.58)

which does not satisfy one of the orthogonality conditions implied by T2 and T2∗ . The
minimum of the potential energy functional is now given by

Min P (u) = P4 [ah uh ] − P2 [ah akv∗hk] + · · · , (2.3.59)

(ak=const.)

 
where P2 ah akv∗hk may be written as

P2 [ah ak (vhk − chkl ul )] = P2 [ah akvhk]

 
− P11 ah akvhk, ap aq cpqr ur + P2 [ah ak chk u ] . (2.3.60)

The second term on the right-hand side of (2.3.60) vanishes because P11 [ah uh , ζ] = 0
for all fields ζ, and hence also for ζ = v, and the last term vanishes because the argu-
ment is a linear combination of buckling modes. Hence it follows that the minimum
value of P [u] is independent of the particular choice of the auxiliary functional.

2.4 Equilibrium states for loads in the neighborhood of the buckling load

In the foregoing analysis, we employed the fundamental state as a reference.

Because we want to investigate equilibrium states for loads in the neighborhood
of the buckling load, we must investigate the behavior of the structure for small but
finite deflections. The fundamental state then depends on the load, so it cannot be
used as a reference state. We need a fixed reference state, and it is suitable to choose
the undeformed (stress-free) state as the reference state.
28 Continuous Elastic Systems

0 I II

x x +U x +U + u

Undeformed Fundamental Adjacent

(stress-free) State State State
Figure 2.4.1

The strain tensor in state II is now given by

1 1 1
(Ui + ui ),j + (Uj + uj ),i + (Uh + uh ),i (Uh + uh ),j
2 2 2
1 1
= (Ui,j + Uj ,i ) + Uh,i , Uh,j (2.4.1)
2 2
1 1 1 1
+ (ui,j + uj ,i ) + uh,i uh,j + Uh,i , uh,j + Uh,j , uh,i ≡ ij + γij
2 2 2 2
where
1 1
ij ≡(Ui,j + Uj ,i ) + Uh,i Uh,j (2.4.2)
2 2
is the strain tensor going from the undeformed state to the fundamental state, and
1 1 1 1
γij ≡ (ui.j + uj ,i ) + uh,i uh,j + Uh,i uh,j + Uh,j uh,i (2.4.3)
2 2 2 2
describes the strains going from the fundamental state to the adjacent state. Notice
that this tensor also depends on U.
The elastic energy density in state II is given by
1
Eijkl (ij + γij ) (k + γk ) . (2.4.4)
2
The increment of elastic energy density going from state I to state II is given by
1 1 1
Eijk (ij + γij ) (k + γk ) − Eijk ij k = Eijk ij γk + Eijk γij γk
2 2 2
1
= sk γk + Eijk γij γk . (2.4.5)
2
This expression is of the same form as our original energy functional but the strain
tensor is different.
We consider loads that can be written as a unit load multiplied by a load factor
λ. This means that the displacement field in the fundamental state also depends on
λ, i.e., U = U (x; λ). The increment of the potential energy going from state I to
state II is now given by

PII − PI = P [u (x) ; λ] = P2 [u (x) ; λ] + P3 [u (x) ; λ] + · · · . (2.4.6)

Notice that this expression starts with quadratic terms because the fundamental
state is an equilibrium configuration, and also that this expression depends on U,
i.e., it refers to the fundamental state.
 2.4 Equilibrium states for loads in the neighborhood of the buckling load 29

For sufficiently small loads, the potential energy will be positive-definite and the
equilibrium configuration will be stable and unique (Kirchhoff’s uniqueness theo-
rem). Now let λ ≥ 0 be monotonically increasing; then for a certain value of λ, say
λ = λ1 , the potential energy will become semi-definite-positive. (The case λ < 0 is a
different stability problem that may be treated similarly.)
We shall now expand the potential energy with respect to the load parameter λ
in the vicinity of λ = λ1 (assuming that such an expansion is possible), e.g.,

P2 [u (x) ; λ] = P2 [u (x) ; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P2 [u (x) ; λ1 ] + · · · (2.4.7)

where () ≡ ∂ () /∂λ.

As mentioned previously, the potential energy depends on U (x, λ). In the fol-
lowing, we shall assume that the fundamental state is known and the question is
whether there exist equilibrium configurations in the vicinity of the fundamental
state. Therefore stationary values of P [u (x) ; λ] are considered for nonzero displace-
ment increments from the fundamental state.
A necessary condition for equilibrium is that

P11 [u (x) , ζ(x) ; λ] + P21 [u (x) , ζ(x) ; λ] + · · · = 0. (2.4.8)

Notice that this equation is satisfied for u(x) = 0, the fundamental state, as it should
be. At the critical load, the infinitesimal displacement field is a linear combination
of buckling modes, i.e., u = ah uh . Assuming that for small but finite displacements
the field can also (approximately) be represented by this expression, we write

u (x) = ah uh (x) + u (x) , T11 [uk, u] = 0, (2.4.9)

which is always possible.

The energy functional now becomes

P [u (x) ; λ] = P2 [ah uh ; λ1 ] + P11 [ah uh , u; λ1 ]

+ P2 [u; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P2 [ah uh ; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P11

[ah uh , u; λ1 ]
+ (λ − λ1 ) P2 [u; λ1 ] + · · · + P3 [ah uh ; λ1 ] + P21 [ah uh , u; λ1 ] + · · ·
+ (λ − λ1 ) P3 [ah uh ; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P21

[ah uh , u; λ1 ] + · · ·
+ P4 [ah uh ; λ1 ] + · · · . (2.4.10)

By known arguments, the first two terms on the right-hand side of (2.4.10) van-
ish. We shall now first consider the terms depending on u. First of all, we have

the positive-definite term P2 [u; λ1 ], thus the term (λ − λ1 ) P11 [ah uh , u; λ1 ] is impor-
tant because it contains u linearly, and is also linear in ah uh and λ − λ1 . The term
(λ − λ1 ) P2 [u; λ1 ] may be neglected because it is quadratic in u and is multiplied by
λ − λ1 . The next important term depending on u is P21 [ah uh , u; λ1 ], which is linear in
u and quadratic in ah uh . Other terms depending on u may be neglected because they
are either of higher order in u or they contain higher-order terms in ah uh or (λ − λ1 ).
We now determine the minimum with respect to u of the three terms mentioned,

Min P2 [u; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P11 [ah uh , u; λ1 ] + P21 [ah uh , u; λ1 ] . (2.4.11)
w.r.t. u
30 Continuous Elastic Systems

The solution to this minimum problem is unique. Suppose that u∗ is a second solu-
tion. Then the following equation must holds,

P11 [u − u∗ , η] = 0 for ∀η| T11 [u, η] = T11 [u∗ , η] = 0. (2.4.12)

The solutions of this equation are linear combinations of the buckling modes, but
u and u∗ are orthogonal with respect to these buckling modes, so we must have
u − u∗ = 0. Guided by the structure of (2.4.11), we try a solution of the form

uMin (x) = (λ − λ1 ) ah vh (x) + ah akvhk (x) . (2.4.13)

Because uMin (x) is the solution to (2.4.11), we have for a variation of this field, say
uMin + εη,

P2 [uMin + εη; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P11 [ah uh , uMin + εη; λ1 ] + P21 [ah uh , uMin + εη; λ1 ]

≥ P2 [uMin ; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P11 [ah uh , uMin ; λ1 ] , for ∀ε. (2.4.14)

This inequality must be satisfied for all sufficiently small values of ε ∈ R, which
implies

P11 [uMin , η; λ1 ] + (λ − λ1 ) P11 [ah uh , η; λ1 ] + P21 [ah uh , η; λ1 ] = 0. (2.4.15)

Substitution of (2.4.13) into (2.4.15) yields

(λ − λ1 ) P11 [ah vh , η; λ1 ] + P11 [ah akvhk, η; λ1 ]

(2.4.16)

+ (λ − λ1 ) P11 [ah uh , η] + P21 [ah uh , η; λ1 ] = 0.

Because this equation must hold for all (λ − λ1 ), we must have

P11 [vh , η; λ1 ] + P11


[uh , η; λ1 ] = 0 (2.4.17)

and
1 
P11 [vhk, η; λ1 ] + P111 [uh , uk; λ1 ] = 0, (2.4.18)
2
where for (2.4.18) we have used the relation
1
P21 [ah uh , η; λ1 ] = ah akP111 [uh , uk, η; λ1 ] .
2
From these linear equations, vh and vhk can be determined.
In the following, we shall need the following property:

Min(F2 [u] + F1 [u]) = −F2 [u∗ ], (2.4.19)

where F2 [u] is a positive-definite functional and u∗ is the minimizing vector field. To

show this, we first notice that the minimizing displacement field satisfies the equa-
tion

F11 [u∗ , ζ] + F1 [ζ] = 0 for ∀ζ. (2.4.20)

Now choose ζ = u∗ , then

F1 [u∗ ] = −F11 [u∗ , u∗ ] .

Exploring the Variety of Random
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Title: The Akkra case

Author: Miriam Allen De Ford

Illustrator: Dan Adkins

Release date: November 22, 2023 [eBook #72197]

Language: English

Original publication: United States: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company,

1961

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AKKRA

CASE ***
 Miriam de Ford has given a good deal
of thought to crime and criminology
of other times and spaces (see
Editorial). Now she turns her talents
to constructing a "true crime" of the
future—and its solution. Herewith,
then, a criminologist's lecture-report
on:

THE AKKRA CASE

By MIRIAM ALLEN de FORD

Illustrated by ADKINS

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from

Amazing Stories January 1962.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Deliberate murder being so very rare a crime in our society, an
account of any instance of it must attract the attention not only of
criminologists but also of the general public. Very many of my
auditors must remember the Akkra case well, since it occurred only
last year. This, however, is the first attempt to set forth the bizarre
circumstances hitherto known only to the authorities and to a few
specialists.
On February 30 last, the body of a young girl was found under the
Central Park mobilway in Newyork I. She had been struck on the
head with some heavy object which had fractured her skull, and her
auburn hair was matted with congealed blood. Two boys illegally
trespassing on one of the old dirt roads in the park itself stumbled
upon the corpse. She was fully dressed, but barefoot, with her
socsandals lying beside her. An autopsy showed only one unusual
thing—she was a virgin, though she was fully mature.
Two hundred years ago, say, this would have been a case for the
homicide branch of the city police. Now, of course, there are no city
police, all local law enforcement being in the hands of the Federal
government, with higher supervision and appeal to the Interpol; and
since there has been no reported murder (except in Africa and
China, where this crime has not yet been entirely eradicated) for at
least 20 years, Fedpol naturally has no specialists in homicide.
Investigation therefore was up to the General Branch in Newyork
Complex I.
The murderer had stupidly broken off the welded serial number disc
from her wristlet—stupidly, because of course everybody's
fingerprints and retinal pattern are on file with Interpol from birth. It
was soon discovered that the victim was one Madolin Akkra, born in
Newyork I of mixed Irish, Siamese, and Swedish descent, aged 18
years and seven months. Since it is against the law for any minor
(under 25) to be gainfully employed, and there was no record of any
exemption-permit, she had necessarily to be a student. She was
found to be studying spaceship maintenance at Upper Newyork
Combined Technicum.
People who deride Fedpol and call it a useless anachronism don't
know what they are talking about. It is true that in our society criminal
tendencies are understood to be a disease, amenable to treatment,
not a free-will demonstration of anti-social proclivities. But it is also
true that every member of Fedpol, down to the merest rookie
policeman, is a trained specialist in some field, and that most of its
officers are graduate psychiatrists. As soon as Madolin Akkra's
identity was determined, it was easy to find out everything about her.
The circumstances surrounding her in life were sufficiently odd in
themselves. Her mother was dead, but she lived with her own father
and full younger sister in a small (only 20 stories and 80 living-units)
co-operative apartment house in the old district formerly called
Westchester, once an "exclusive" settlement but now considerably
run down, and populated for the most part by low-income families.
Few of the residents had more than one helicopter per family, and
many of them had to commute to their jobs or schools by public
copter. The building where the Akkras lived was shabby, its chrome
and plastic well worn, and showed the effects of a negligent local
upkeep system. The Akkras even prepared and ate some of their
meals in their own quarters—an almost unheard-of anachronism.
The father had served his 20 years of productive labor from 25 to 45,
and the whole family was therefore supported by public funds of one
sort or another. When the Fedpol officers commenced their
investigation by interviewing this man, they found him one of the
worst social throwbacks discovered in many years—doubtless a
prime reason for the bizarre misfortune which had overtaken his
misguided daughter. To begin with, the investigators wanted to know,
why had he not reported his daughter missing? To this, Pol Akkra
made the astonishing reply that the girl was old enough to know her
own business, and that he had never asked any questions as to
what she did! Everyone knows it is every adult's responsibility to
report any deviation by the young more serious than the mischievous
trespassing by the boys who had found Madolin Akkra's body, and
who at least had gone to Fedpol at once. The officers could get no
lead whatever from the girl's father.
To find the murderer, it was of first importance to establish the
background of this strange case. Access to the park is difficult—has
been difficult ever since, more than a century ago, the area became
a hunting-ground for thieves and hoodlums, and was transformed
into a cultivated forest and garden preserved for aesthetic reasons,
and to be viewed only from the mobilways above. (The boys who
found the body are, of course, proof that the sealing-off of the park is
not entirely effective—but surely only a daring and agile child could
insinuate himself under the thorn-set hedges surrounding the park,
or swing down to the tree-tops from the structure above.)
If the victim had been killed elsewhere, how was her body carried to
the spot where it was found? Both murderer and corpse would have
had to penetrate unobserved into an almost impenetrable area.
Could the body have been thrown from above? But if so, how could
the remains of a full-grown girl have been transported from either a
ground car or a copter on to the crowded mobilway, brightly lighted
all night long? She must have gone there alive, either under duress
or of her own accord.
The first and most natural question, to Fedpol, was: who did have
access to the park? The answer was, the gardeners. But the
gardeners were out: they were all robots, even their supervisor. No
robot is able to harm a human being. Moreover, no robot could have
brought the victim in from outside if she had been killed elsewhere.
The gardeners never leave the park, and they would repel any
strange robot from elsewhere who tried to enter it. And one could
hardly imagine a sane human being who would go to the park for a
rendezvous with a robot!

It was Madolin's little sister, Margret, who interrupted the futile

interrogation of the surly and resistant Pol Akkra and provided the
first clue. She caught the eye of the investigating officer, Inspector
Dugal Kazazian, and quietly went into the next room, where
Kazazian followed her after posting his assistant with the father.
"I promised Madolin I would never tell on her," she whispered, "but
now she's—now it doesn't matter." She had loved her sister; her
eyes were puffy from weeping. "She—she'd been going to Naturist
get-togethers."
Kazazian almost groaned aloud. He might have known—this was the
first time they had been linked with murder, but it seemed to him that
in almost every other affair he had investigated for the past few
years, the subversive Naturists somehow had crept in. And if he had
reflected, he would have suspected them already, since there seems
to be no school or college which does not harbor an underground
branch of these criminal lunatics.
I need hardly explain to my auditors who and what the Naturists are.
But to keep the record complete, let me say briefly that this
pernicious worldwide conspiracy, founded 50 years ago by the
notorious Ali Chaim Pertinuzzi, is engaged in an organized campaign
to tear down all the marvelous technical achievements of our
civilization. It pretends to believe that we should eat "natural" foods
and wear "natural" textiles instead of synthetics, walk instead of ride,
teach children the obsolete art of reading (reading what?—the
antique books preserved in museums?), make our own music,
painting, and sculpture instead of enjoying the exquisite products of
perfected machines, open up all parks and the few remaining rural
preserves to campers, hunters and fishers (if any specimens worth
hunting can be found outside zoos), and what they call "hikers"—in a
word, go back to the confused, reactionary world of our ancestors.
From this hodgepodge of "principles" it is a natural transition to
political and economic subversion. No wonder that the information
that Madolin Akkra had been corrupted by this vile outfit sent a chill
down Inspector Kazazian's spine.

It explained a great deal, however. The Naturists profess to oppose

our healthy system of sexual experimentation, and Madolin had been
a virgin. The weird family situation, and her father's attitude both
toward her and toward the Fedpol, aroused suspicion that he too
was affiliated with the Naturists, not simply that Madolin had flirted
with the outer edges of the treasonable organization, as a "fellow-
seeker," without her father's knowledge.
Suppose the girl, fundamentally decent and ethically-minded, had
revolted against the false doctrine and threatened to betray its
advocates? Then she might have been killed to silence her—and
what more likely than that, as a piece of brazen defiance, her
murdered corpse should have been deposited in the only bit of
"natural" ground still remaining in the Newyork area?
But how, and by whom?

The first step, of course, was to fling a dragnet around all known or
suspected Naturists in the district. In a series of flying raids they
were rounded up; and since there no longer exist those depositories
for offenders formerly known as prisons, they were kept
incommunicado in the psychiatric wards of the various hospitals. For
good measure, Pol Akkra was included. Margret, at 13, was old
enough to take care of herself.
Next, all Madolin's classmates at the Technicum, the operators of her
teach-communicators, and members of other classes with whom it
was learned she had been on familiar terms, were subjected to an
intensive electronic questioning. (Several of these were themselves
discovered to be tainted with Naturism, and were interned with the
rest.) One of the tenets of Naturism is a return to the outworn system
of monogamy, and the questioning was directed particularly to the
possibility that Madolin had formed half of one of the notorious
Naturist "steady couples," who often associate without or before
actual mating. But day after day the investigators came up with not
the slightest usable lead.
Please do not think I am underrating Fedpol. Nothing could have
been more thorough than the investigation they undertook. But this
turned out in the end to be a case which by its very nature
obfuscated the normal methods of criminological science. Fedpol
itself has acknowledged this, by its formation in recent months of the
Affiliated Assistance Corps, made up of amateurs who volunteer for
the detection of what are now called Class X crimes—those so far off
the beaten path that professionals are helpless before them.
For it was an amateur who solved Madolin Akkra's murder—her own
little sister. When Margret Akkra reaches the working age of 25 she
will be offered a paid post as Newyork Area Co-ordinator of the AAC.
Left alone by her father's internment, Margret began to devote her
whole time out of school hours to the pursuit of the person or
persons who had killed her sister. She had told Kazazian all she
actually knew; but that was only her starting-point. Though she
herself, as she had told the Inspector, believed that the murder might
be traced to Madolin's connection with the Naturist (and though she
probably at least suspected her father to be involved with them also),
she did not confine herself to that theory, as the Fedpol, with its
scientific training, was obliged to do.
Concealed under a false floor in her father's bedroom—mute
evidence of his Naturist affiliation—she found a cache of printed
books—heirlooms which should long ago have been presented to a
museum for consultation by scholars only. They dated back to the
20th century, and were of the variety then known as "mystery
stories." Margret of course could not read them. But she
remembered now, with revulsion, how, when she and Madolin were
small children, their mother had sometimes (with windows closed
and the videophone turned off) amused them by telling them ancient
myths and legends that by their very nature Margret now realized
must have come from these contraband books.
Unlike her father and her sister, and apparently her mother as well,
Margret Akkra had remained a wholesome product of a civilized
education. She had nothing but horror and contempt for the
subversive activities in the midst of which, she knew now, she had
grown up. The very fact, which became plain to her for the first time,
that her parents had lived together, without changing partners, until
her mother had died, was evidence enough of their aberration.
But, stricken to the heart as the poor girl was, she could not cease to
love those she had always loved, or to be diverted from her
resolution to solve her sister's murder. Shudder as she might at the
memory of those subversive books, she yet felt they might
inadvertently serve to assist her.
It was easy to persuade the school authorities that her shock and
distress over Madolin's death had slowed up her conscious mind,
and to get herself assigned to a few sessions with the electronic
memory stimulator. It took only two or three to bring back in detail the
suppressed memories, and to enable her to extrapolate from them.

One feature of these so-called "mysteries" that came back to her

struck Margret with especial force—the frequent assertion that
murderers always return to the scene of their crime. She decided
that she too must plant herself at the spot where her sister's body
had been found, and lie in wait for the returning killer.
It would be useless to try to obtain official permission, but she was
only 13, as lean and agile as any other child, and if boys could evade
the hedges and the robot gardeners, so could she. The audiovids
had displayed plenty of pictures of the exact scene, and Margret
knew where to find it. But an inspection of the hedges showed her
that it would be easier for her to get in from above, at night—a likelier
time also for her prey.
She located a place where the trees grew almost to the mobilway
and shaded a section of it between the lamps. Perched on the stand-
pave and watching for a pause in the stream of gliders-by, she
dropped lightly into a tree and climbed down to the park beneath.
Hiding from the gardeners, she made her way to the bushes where
the boys had discovered Madolin.
For nearly a week, fortified by Sleepnomer pills, Margret spent every
moment after dark in this hideaway. It was a long, nerve-wracking
vigil: the close contact with leaves and grass, the sound of the wind
in the trees, the unaccustomed darkness away from the lights above,
the frightening approach of wild squirrels and rabbits and even birds,
the necessity to stay concealed from passing robots, kept her on
edge. But stubbornly she persisted. And at last she was rewarded.
It was not late—only about 20 o'clock—when she heard a scramble
and bump not far from her own means of access to the park. It was
not the first time since her watch began that she had heard other
adventurers, invariably small and rather scared boys who dared one
another to walk for a few feet along the dirt paths, then in a panic
rushed back the way they had come. But this time the steps came
directly toward her—human footsteps, not the shuffle of a robot.
Hidden behind a bush, Margret saw them approach—two boys of
about her own age. And then, with a sickening lurch of her heart, she
recognized them. She had seen them, acclaimed as heroes, on the
videoscreen. They were the two who had found Madolin. She could
hear every word they said.
"Come on," one of them urged in a hoarse whisper. "There's nothing
to be afraid of."
"Yes, there is," the other objected. "Ever since then, they've got the
gardeners wired to describe and report anybody they find inside the
park."
"I don't care. We've got to find it. Give me the beamer."

Margret crouched behind the thickest part of the shrubbery, her infra-
red camera at the alert. The tape-attachment was already activated.
The second boy still held back. "I told you then," he muttered, "that
we shouldn't have reported it at all. We should have got out of here
and never said a word to anyone."
"We couldn't," the first boy said, shocked. "It would have been anti-
social. Haven't you ever learned anything in school?"
"Well, it's anti-social to kill somebody, too, isn't it?"
Margret pressed the button on the camera. Enlarged enough, even
the identification discs on the boys' wristlets would show.
"How could we guess there was a human being there, except us?
What was she doing here, anyway? Come on, Harri, we've got to
find that thing. It's taken us long enough to get a chance to sneak in
here."
"Maybe they've found it already," said Harri fearfully.
"No, they haven't; if they had, they'd have taken us in as soon as
they dusted the fingerprints."
"All right, it's not anywhere on the path. Put the beamer on the
ground where it will shine in front of us, and let's get down on our
stomachs and hunt underneath the bushes."
Grabbing her camera, Margret jumped to her feet and dashed past
the startled boys. She heard a scream—that would be Harri—and
then their feet pounding after her. But she had a head start, and her
eyes were more accustomed to the dark than theirs could be. She
reached a tree, shinnied up it, jumped from one of its limbs to
another on a higher tree beneath the mobilway, chinned herself up,
and made her way out safely.
She went straight to Fedpol headquarters and asked for Inspector
Kazazian.
The frightened boys were picked up at once. They were brought into
headquarters, where they had been praised and thanked before, and
as soon as they saw the pictures and heard the tape-recording they
confessed everything.
That night, they said, they were being initiated into one of those
atavistic fraternities which it seems impossible for the young to
outgrow or the authorities to suppress. As part of their ordeal, they
had been required to sneak into Central Park and to bring back as
proof of their success a captured robot gardener. Between them they
had decided that the only way they could ever get their booty would
be to disassemble the robot, for though it could not injure them, if
they took hold of it, its communication-valve would blow and the
noise would bring others immediately; so they had taken along what
seemed to them a practical weapon—a glass brick pried out of the
back of a locker in the school gym. Hurled by a strong and practiced
young arm, it could de-activate the robot's headpiece.
When, as they waited in the darkness for a gardener to appear, they
saw a figure moving about in the shrubbery bordering the path, one
of them—neither would say which one it was—let fly. To their horror,
instead of the clang of heavy glass against metal, they heard a
muffled thud as the brick struck flesh and bone. They started to run
away. But after a few paces they forced themselves to return.
It was a girl, and the blow had knocked her flat. Her head was
bleeding badly and she was moaning. Terrified, they knelt beside
her. She gasped once and lay still. One of the boys laid a trembling
hand on her breast, the other seized her wrist. There was no heart-
beat and there was no pulse. On an impulse, the boy holding her
wrist wrenched away her identification disc.
Panic seized them, and they dashed away, utterly forgetting the
brick, which at their first discovery one of them had had the foresight
to kick farther into the shrubbery, out of view. Sick and shaking, they
made their way out of the park and separated. The boy who had the
disc threw it into the nearest sewer-grating.
The next day, after school, they met again and talked it over. Finally
they decided they must go to Fedpol and report; but to protect
themselves they would say only that they had found a dead body.

Day after day, they kept seeing and hearing about the case on the
videaud, and pledged each other to silence. Then suddenly one of
the boys had a horrible thought—they had forgotten that the brick
would show their fingerprints!... They had come desperately to
search for it when Margret overheard them. Kazazian's men found it
without any difficulty; it had been just out of the gardeners' regular
track.
In view of the accidental nature of the whole affair, and the boys' full
confession, they got off easy. They were sentenced to only five
years' confinement in a psychiatric retraining school.
The suspects against whom nothing could be proved were released
and kept under surveillance. Pol Akkra, and all the proved Naturists,
were sentenced to prefrontal lobotomies. Margret Akkra, in return for
her help in solving the mystery, secured permission to take her father
home with her. A purged and docile man, he was quite capable of
the routine duties of housekeeping.
The killing of Madolin Akkra was solved. But one question remained:
how and why had she been in Central Park at all?
The answer, when it came, was surprising and embarrassingly
simple. And this is the part that has never been told before.
Pol Akkra, a mere simulacrum of the man he had been, no longer
knew his living daughter or remembered his dead one. But in the
recesses of his invaded brain some faint vestiges of the past
lingered, and occasionally and unexpectedly swam up to his
dreamlike consciousness.
One day he said suddenly: "Didn't I once know a girl named
Madolin?"
"Yes, father," Margret answered gently, tears in her eyes.
"Funny about her." He laughed his ghastly Zombie chuckle. "I told
her that was a foolish idea, even if it was good Nat—Nat-something
theory."
"What idea was that?"
"I—I've forgotten," he said vaguely. Then he brightened. "Oh, yes, I
remember. Stand barefoot in fresh soil for an hour in the light of the
full moon and you'll never catch cold again.
"She was subject to colds, I think." (About the only disease left we
have as yet no cure for.) He sighed. "I wonder if she ever tried it."
THE END
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AKKRA
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