Continuous systems, such as beams, membranes, plates, and shells, represent fundamental structural elements of mechanical components in the aerospace, aeronautical, and automotive fields. In order to properly design complex composite structures for high-speed mechanical applications, it is important to investigate the nonlinear dynamics and vibration of these basic continuous systems.

This special issue focuses on sharing recent advances and developments in the theories, algorithms, and applications that involve the nonlinear dynamics and vibrations of continuous systems. Topics fitting this scope include innovative theoretical studies, advanced numerical simulations, and new experimental approaches to investigate and better understand complex phenomena related to continuous system nonlinear vibrations. Manuscripts must clearly describe the advances over the current state of the art and provide sufficient details to be reproducible on the basis of the material presented in the paper and the references cited therein.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Nonlinear FE analysis for elastoplastic and contact problems
• Boundary element, finite difference/volume, and meshless approaches
• Composite and functionally graded material continuous structures
• Experimental identification techniques in time and frequency domain
• Vibrations of stepped, damaged, and cracked continuous structures
• Discovery of new, original nonlinear dynamic phenomena
• Vibroimpact dynamics, stability, bifurcations, and chaos
• Fluid-structure, piezoelectric, and thermoelastic interactions
• Impact problems, wave propagation, and vibration control
• Nonlinear damping, nonlinear normal modes, and localization
• Nonlinear nonstationary dynamics, energy transfers, and resonances
• Asymptotic, multiple scale, harmonic balance, and perturbation methods