DYNAMIC BUCKLING OF THIN-WALLED CYLINDRICAL SHELLS UNDER RADIAL IMPACT PRESSURES RANDOMLY DISTRIBUTED IN THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL DIRECTION

Abstract

Dynamic buckling of thin-walled cylindrical shells under radial impact pressures randomly distributed in the circumferential direction is investigated by extending widely-used Donnell’s shell theory. The buckling model proposed here specifically includes nonlinear terms in the geometrical equation and the curvature change due to significant variation of the shell radius. The finite difference method is adopted to solve the equations, and a parameter is defined to describe the buckling degree of the shell. Numerical results show that nonlinear terms from Green’s strain tensors and the change of curvature are important for shell large deformation. Pressure characteristics, materials and thickness of the cylindrical shell affect its buckling behavior remarkably.