Assessment of two analytical methods in solving the linear and nonlinear elastic beam deformation problems

Purpose - In the last two decades with the rapid development of nonlinear science, there has appeared ever-increasing interest of scientists and engineers in the analytical techniques for nonlinear problems. This paper considers linear and nonlinear systems that are not only regarded as general boundary value problems, but also are used as mathematical models in viscoelastic and inelastic flows. The purpose of this paper is to present the application of the homotopy-perturbation method (HPM) and variational iteration method (VIM) to solve some boundary value problems in structural engineering and fluid mechanics. Design/methodology/approach - Two new but powerful analytical methods, namely, He's VIM and HPM, are introduced to solve some boundary value problems in structural engineering and fluid mechanics. Findings - Analytical solutions often fit under classical perturbation methods. However, as with other analytical techniques, certain limitations restrict the wide application of perturbation methods, most important of which is the dependence of these methods on the existence of a small parameter in the equation. Disappointingly, the majority of nonlinear problems have no small parameter at all. Furthermore, the approximate solutions solved by the perturbation methods are valid, in most cases, only for the small values of the parameters. In the present study, two powerful analytical methods HPM and VIM have been employed to solve the linear and nonlinear elastic beam deformation problems. The results reveal that these new methods are very effective and simple and do not require a large computer memory and can also be used for solving linear and nonlinear boundary value problems. Originality/value - The results revealed that the VIM and HPM are remarkably effective for solving boundary value problems. These methods are very promoting methods which can be wildly utilized for solving mathematical and engineering problems.