BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF LAMINATED CYLINDRICAL-SHELLS WITH ARBITRARY NONCIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION

Buckling analysis of laminated cylindrical shells with noncircular cross section of arbitrary closed shape is presented. The equations, in terms of the normal displacement and Airy stress function, of the Donnell type, are derived via the Hu-Washizu mixed formulation. The curvature, which is a function of the circumferential coordinate, is expanded in Fourier series. The circumferential dependence is eliminated by a combination of Fourier expansion and Galerkin's method. The resulting ordinary differential equations are then reduced to matrix equations by the use of finite differences. The configurational aspect is investigated parametrically. Unlike the circular cylindrical shells, coupling of the wave number in the circumferential direction is significantly high.