Buckling of Stiffened Cylindrical Shells of Circular-Arc Cross Section

Abstract

SummaryCylinders of non-circular cross-section which can be constructed by circular arcs and straight line segments are analysed. Differential equations and boundary conditions for the buckling of eccentrically stiffened, isotropic or orthotropic, circular panels of zero Gaussian curvature are derived through variation of the total potential. Eight equations of continuity along the generators of adjacent arc-segments are enforced simultaneously through the use of Lagrangian multipliers which, with the potential minimised with respect to the admissible displacement functions, constitute an approximate solution of the cylinder problem. Numerical examples include stiffened cylinders with oval and egg-shaped sections. The buckling strengths of these non-circular cylindrical shells under bending are compared with their circular counterparts on the basis of equal circumferential length.