Buckling of ring-stiffened shells of revolution

Abstract

In previous chapters many examples have been given of buckling of shells of revolution, especially cylinders, reinforced by equally spaced rings or by rings at the edges. Figure 22, which reveals the sensitivity of critical axial load to initial imperfections in cylindrical shells of various wall constructions, seems to indicate that ring-stiffened cylinders are less sensitive than the other types for which test results are shown. In Figs. 35 and 36 buckling characteristics are illustrated for a ring-stiffened titanium cylindrical shell which collapses at stresses exceeding the proportional limit of the material. With creep neglected in the analysis the shell is predicted to buckle nonaxisymmetrically in a bifurcation mode with 12 circumferential waves. With creep included the predicted mode of failure is axisymmetric collapse.