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1 vote
0 answers
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Are principle of virtual work and principle of minimum potential energy same? And how is it related to Calculus of variation?

I am studying Finite element method and Classical Mechanics. I have come across three important terms Principle of virtual work (found in Classical Mechanics) Principle of minimum potential energy (...
1 vote
2 answers
259 views

Why use virtual displacement to make constraint forces vanish?

Why do we use virtual displacement to vanish work done by constraint forces instead of the actual displacement?
4 votes
1 answer
127 views

What does it mean for a force to 'produce' virtual displacement?

Book: Variational Principles of Mechanics by Lanczos, 1st edition, 1949. Statement (page 80): "Two systems of forces which produce the same virtual displacements are dynamically equivalent."...