Meridional Rib-Stiffened Shells

A semianalytical technique is proposed for the analysis of a meridional rib stiffened shell of revolution which accounts for the discrete stiffness of the rib in a rational manner. The method uses discrete field concepts, finite Fourier series expansion of the dependent variables in the circumferential direction and Galerkin FEM in the meridional direction to analyse such a class of shells. In the process the two-dimensional physical problem is reduced to a one-dimensional mathematical model, thereby increasing computation efficiency. This scheme can be employed to study the size and effect of the ribs on the shell behavior more efficiently than a full-blown FEM. Through the use of a numerical example, the effect of the ribs in a typical hyperbolic shell of revolution is illustrated. Shell deflection and stress resultants are compared for both stiffened and unstiffened shell subjected to wind pressure. The analysis is applicable to such linear elastic models where small deflection theory is valid.