DYNAMICS OF A THIN CYLINDRICAL-SHELL UNDER IMPACT WITH LIMITED DETERMINISTIC INFORMATION ON ITS INITIAL IMPERFECTIONS

This study deals with the dynamics and failure of a thin circular cylindrical shell with axisymmetric initial imperfections. In contrast to earlier studies, the uncertainty involved in the initial imperfections is described by convex modelling: a non-probabilistic, set-theoretical approach. This methodology is useful when only limited information is available on the distribution of the uncertain events. The most significant N Fourier coefficients are assumed to fall in an ellipsoidal set in N-dimensional Euclidean space. We evaluate the maximum total displacement as a function of the shape of the ellipsoid. © 1990.