ELASTIC STABILITY OF SHELLS OF REVOLUTION BY THE VARIATIONAL APPROACH USING DISCRETE ELEMENTS.
Abstract
A systematic procedure for obtaining the bifurcation-buckling point for shells of revolution under static axisymmetric loading by the variational approach using discrete elements is presented. Basic formulations are carried out for three different shell theories and the buckling loads obtained from these are compared. The formulations are illustrated and evaluated by comparisons with known solutions for a number of examples such as cylinders with uniform thickness under axial compression, a truncated hemispherical shell under axial tension, and torsional buckling of a truncated conical shell. New problems, such as an axially-compressed cylinder with wall thickness varying alongs its length, and the torsional buckling of shallow and deep logarithmic shells have been solved to illustrate the versatility of this method. Buckling of the cylindrical shell under end compressive load is investigated for the influence of prebuckling deformation, edge conditions, radius-to-thickness ratio, and length-to-radius ratio. The convergence of the buckling load for the discrete system is established by using an increasing number if discrete elements. Finally, an approximate, but reasonably accurate discrete-element model called the constant-strain model is presented, which predicts a critical buckling load close to that obtained by using a more rigorous model (variable strain model). (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0489818
Entities
People
- Dhirendra R. Navaratna
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology