On plastic buckling of cylindrical shells struck axially with a mass

Buckling of elastic-plastic cylindrical shells axially struck with a mass is discussed. The effect of stress wave fronts travelling along the shell is taken into account. This allows us to cast some more light on the mechanism of progressive buckling. Only axisymmetric buckling modes are considered. The analysis is based on the Kirchhoff-Love hypotheses. As a constitutive law, the rate independent elasto-plastic relations with linear strain hardening and von Mises yield condition are adopted. A method for calculating bifurcation times and buckling modes is presented. Numerical examples are given. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.