Abstract
The statistical properties of initial imperfections in the plate and shell structures are investigated. The analysis of the statistical structure of initial imperfections requires the generalized power spectrum and/or the covariance matrix, which can be predicted by the entropy maximum criteria. According to the present method the ambiguity of imperfection can be estimated quantitatively. As an example, the initial imperfection, actually measured, in prismatic bars is analyzed. The statistical analysis of them, which fluctuate along prismatic bars, indicates the validity of the maximum entropy model through the comparison between the theory and experiment.
