Abstract
The weight function method was originally derived for two- and three-dimensional crack problems to calculate stress intensity factors for arbitrary loading conditions. In the present paper the weight function method has been generalized to the response analysis of structures basing upon the Maxwell-Betti's reciprocal theorem, where the weight function method is formulated and applied to two-dimensional elasticity and plate bending problems with illustrative examples. The method is very useful for the analysis of structures subjected to a variety of loading conditions, because once the weight function is calculated the responses such as displacements and stresses may simply be calculated by the integration of the inner product of the universal weight function and a load vector.
