Buckling Stress States of Cylindrical Shells

Plexiglass cylindrical shell models with nearly perfect geometry and constant thickness were tested under various combinations of membrane stresses. In cylinders under axial compression alone and axial compression with internal pressure, the buckling procedure was initiated by means of a small dynamic disturbance which reduced the dispersion of the test results. The normal forces and bending moments in the middle of the model were measured. The number of buckling waves observed in the tests agreed quite well with the result of the classical theory for the laterally loaded cylindrical shell. Only the shape, the length, and the depth of the buckling waves changed with the stress state. A buckling criterion and an interaction curve realistic for civil engineering purposes are proposed for checking the stability of cylindrical shells with fixed ends under combined membrane stress states.