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A technique for imperfection sensitivity analysis with reference to the geometrically nonlinear analysis of structures is presented. The paper discusses how detailed information on structural behavior can be obtained with less computational cost.

The imperfection sensitivity analysis of structures is carried out by detecting the critical states on the equilibrium path relating to the various imperfections. In fact we can investigate the behavior of imperfect structures without considering the imperfect equilibrium curve. In this work we obtained the fold line, the one-dimensional equilibrium subset of limit points relating to different values of imperfection, by asymptotic extrapolation from a known singular point. The evaluation of this singular point on the perfect equilibrium curve is carried out by a path-following algorithm. A procedure that overcomes the ill-conditioning of the systems defined in the critical points is described. This proves to be highly advantageous in terms of computational cost in comparison with classical methods of analysis.

The paper investigates the behavior of cylindrical shell. In particular the sensitivity analysis for load imperfections is carried out. The asymptotic extrapolation algorithm is also compared with continuation methods for the analysis of imperfect cylindrical shell.

In the present work the buckling and postbuckling behavior of laminated cylindrical shells under axial compression and lateral pressure loading are investigated. A nonlinear theory for thin cylinders incorporating the effects of transverse shear deformation is employed. A modal solution based on the Koiter theory is utilized to derive the nonlinear equilibrium equations for the postcritical behavior of the shell. The Rayleigh–Ritz method is used to obtain analytical solutions for the critical load through algebraic routines written in Maple. Prebuckling and postbuckling equations are also solved by using symbolic computation. The influence played by geometrical parameters of the cylinder and physical parameters of the laminate (i.e. fiber orientation of each lamina, material properties and number of layers) on the critical and postcritical behavior of the shell is examined. It is noticed that the stability of shells is highly dependent on laminate characteristics and, from these observations, it is concluded that specific configurations of laminates should be designed for each kind of application.

The discrepancy between the analytically determined buckling load of perfect cylindrical shells and experimental test results is traced back to imperfections. The most frequently used guideline for design of cylindrical shells, NASA SP-8007, proposes a deterministic calculation of a knockdown factor with respect to the ratio of radius and wall thickness, which turned out to be very conservative in numerous cases and which is not intended for composite shells. In order to determine a lower bound for the buckling load of an arbitrary type of shell, probabilistic design methods have been developed. Measured imperfection patterns are described using double Fourier series, whereas the Fourier coefficients characterize the scattering of geometry. In this paper, probabilistic analyses of buckling loads are performed regarding Fourier coefficients as random variables. A nonlinear finite element model is used to determine buckling loads, and Monte Carlo simulations are executed. The probabilistic approach is used for a set of six similarly manufactured composite shells. The results indicate that not only geometric but also nontraditional imperfections like loading imperfections have to be considered for obtaining a reliable lower limit of the buckling load. Finally, further Monte Carlo simulations are executed including traditional as well as loading imperfections, and lower bounds of buckling loads are obtained, which are less conservative than NASA SP-8007.

The research reported herein follows the increased interest in buckling-induced functionality for novel materials and devices with a focus on cylindrical shells as a suitable structural prototype. The paper proposes the concept of using patterned thickening patches on the surface of cylindrical shells to modify and control their elastic postbuckling response. Cylindrical shells with non-uniform thickness distributions (NTD) were fabricated through 3D printing to understand rules for pattern designs and then tested under loading-unloading cycles. Strategic thickening patches act as governing imperfections that modify the response type, the number, the location and the sequence of the localized buckling events. The use of patterned thickening patches and their layout provides diverse design opportunities for a desired elastic postbuckling response and can be potentially used in design materials and structures with switchable functionalities.

This paper presents an analytical investigation on dynamic buckling of cylindrical shells with general thickness variations under exponentially increasing external pressure over the time. Different from the previous studies in literatures, the shell thickness varies arbitrarily and is common in actual engineering, which leads to failure of the existing methods. A new analytical method is first developed to solve the fourth-order governing partial differential equations with variable coefficients for the shell subjected to varying external pressure. Then the asymptotic formulae for dynamic buckling loads considering general thickness variations are derived and expressed by geometry sizes of the shell and thickness variation functions. To validate the presented results, two specific non-axisymmetric thickness cases are discussed in detail. The critical dynamic buckling loads show a great agreement with the previous ones by other researchers for simple and axial thickness variation situation. Finally, example calculations and parametric discussion are performed, and influences of thickness variation types, speed of external pressure and the power exponent of time on the critical dynamic buckling loads are discussed.

Buckling design of axially compressed cylindrical shells is still a challenging subject considering the high imperfection-sensitive characteristic in this kind of structure. With the development of various design methods, the energy barrier concept dealing with buckling of imperfection-sensitive cylindrical shells exhibits a promising prospect in recent years. In this study, buckling design of imperfection-sensitive cylindrical shells under axial compression based on the energy barrier approach is systematically investigated. The methodology about buckling design based on the energy barrier approach is described in detail first taking advantage of the cylindrical shells whose buckling loads have been extensively tested. Then, validation and discussion about this buckling design method have been carried out by the numerical and experimental analyses on the cylindrical shells with different geometrical and boundary imperfections. Results in this study together with the available experimental data have verified the reliability and advantage of the buckling design method based on energy barrier approach. A design criterion based on the energy barrier approach is therefore established and compared with the other criteria. Results indicate that buckling design based on energy barrier approach can be used as an efficient way in the lightweight design of thin-shell structures.

This paper analytically studies the buckling of a cylindrical shell having varying thickness under non-uniform axial compressive loads for the first time, which widely exists in engineering practice. A novel quadratic perturbation technique is developed to establish general buckling load formulas for the shell. This method overcomes the difficulties of traditional energy methods in solving high order determinants and deriving direct expressions for buckling loads when shell thickness and axial load are unknown. Applying presented formulas, various shell thicknesses and axial loads are analyzed, and a series of new results for buckling loads are obtained and validated. Even for classical cosine thickness variation under uniform axial compression, we also give general conclusions compared with Koiter’s results by the energy method. The effects of thickness variations and load distribution parameters on buckling loads are analyzed in detail. The presented study in this paper fills the gap and establishes a foundation of buckling analysis for non-uniformly loading cylindrical shells with variable thickness. Certainly, the established formulas are general and available for buckling resistance capacity evaluation for the shells under all circumstances involving thickness variations or/and non-uniform axial compressive loads.

This paper conducts the analytical investigation on the buckling of cylindrical shells with axially variable elastic modulus subjected to axial compressive load for the first time. First, it proves that the axially distributed elastic modulus can be expressed as the combination of constant and variable component. Then, governing differential equations for buckling analysis are derived and exactly solved by the combined perturbation method and Fourier analysis. Accordingly, the closed analytical solutions for the cylinder with arbitrarily variable elastic modulus are obtained, which reveal the explicit relations among buckling load, shell sizes and elastic modulus functions. Based on the presented analytical formulas, four types of elastic modulus variations for shell material which are uniform, periodic, linear and combined are studied in detail, and the results are also well verified. The derived analytical solutions in this paper can serve as benchmarks for buckling analyses of thin-walled cylinders with elastic modulus variations resulted from design, material manufacturing process, material imperfections and so on.

A thorough analysis of cylindrical shells' dynamical behavior is essential in many different industrial design problems, and particularly in electric motor design. Shell vibration equations form a set of partial differential equations of order eight, where their closed form solution is only known for few special cases with a few known boundary conditions along with many not necessarily realistic assumptions. On the other hand, finite element based numerical solutions does not yield a lumped model that can be regarded as a general solution for natural frequencies of cylindrical shells.

In this paper, a neurofuzzy model for natural frequencies of cylindrical shells is developed. At first, natural frequencies are calculated for a wide range of cylindrical shells' dimensions, using either closed form solution or finite element method. Gathered data is exploited for training of a Locally Linear Neurofuzzy Network, which yields a general model for calculation of natural frequencies of cylindrical shells. While the developed neurofuzzy model may be used in different design problems that deals with cylindrical shells, as a case study, the proposed model along with an evolutionary algorithm are utilized in the optimal design of a Switched Reluctance motor.

In this study, we focus on the prediction of the pressure field scattered from an immersed cylindrical shell partially coated by a soft rubber, impacted by an acoustic plane wave. As the coating covers only a partial portion along the circumference of the shell, the considered system is not axisymmetric. As a result, a spectral (Fourier) resolution of the mathematical problem would induce the coupling of the different circumferential orders, which can lead to prohibitive computing times. To circumvent this issue, the reverse Condensed Transfer Function (rCTF) method has recently been developed to decouple vibroacoustic subsystems initially coupled along lines or surfaces. From an analytical model of the fully coated shell impacted by the acoustic plane wave and a finite element (FE) model of the missing coating material, the rCTF approach predicts the vibroacoustic behavior of the coated shell with a voided section instead of the removed part. This voided section can then be filled by a FE model of the water domain replacing the removed coating material, using the direct CTF approach. The principle of the rCTF approach, some numerical validations, and results for the scattering from the partially coated shell are presented in this paper.