Application of differential quadrature to static analysis of structural components

The numerical technique of differential quadrature for the solution of linear and non‐linear partial differential equations, first introduced by Bellman and his associates, is applied to the equations governing the deflection and buckling behaviour of one‐ and two‐dimensional structural components. Separate transformations are used for higher‐order derivatives, as suggested by Mingle, thus extending the method to treat fourth‐order equations and to include multiple, boundary conditions in the respective co‐ordinate directions. Results are obtained for various boundary and loading conditions and are compared with existing exact and numerical solutions by other methods. The application of differential quadrature to this class of problems is seen to lead to accurate results with relatively small computational effort.