On dynamic buckling phenomena in axially loaded elastic-plastic cylindrical shells

Some characteristic features of the dynamic inelastic buckling behaviour of cylindrical shells subjected to axial impact loads are discussed. It is shown that the material properties and their approximations in the plastic range influence the initial instability pattern and the final buckling shape of a shell having a given geometry. The phenomena of dynamic plastic buckling (when the entire length of a cylindrical shell wrinkles before the development of large radial displacements) and dynamic progressive buckling (when the folds in a cylindrical shell form sequentially) are analysed from the viewpoint of stress wave propagation resulting from an axial impact. It is shown that a high velocity impact causes an instantaneously applied load, with a maximum value at t = 0 and whether or not this load causes an inelastic collapse depends on the magnitude of the initial kinetic energy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.