Buckling behaviour of cylindrical panels

Abstract

Experimental studies were made on isotropic cylindrical panels made of Aluminum 7075-T6 under uniaxial compression. The experimental values of the critical buckling load were determined using four different methods. The critical buckling load was also determined using MSC/NASTRAN and CQUAD8 finite element. The experimental values of the critical buckling load obtained by different methods were compared with the finite element solution. The effects of the panel angle, panel length and panel thickness on the critical buckling load of isotropic cylindrical panels made of Aluminum 7075-T6 were studied. It is found that the Method III (based on a plot of applied load versus average axial strain) yields the highest value for critical buckling load and Method II (based on a plot of applied load versus square of out-of-plane-deflection) the lowest value for critical buckling load. The experimental values given by Method III are seen to be closest to the finite element solution. Critical buckling load increases monotonically as panel angle increases.