Cylindrical shells under axial compression

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in several different ways: the most obvious choices are the amplitude of a dening sine curve, the maximum variation from peak to trough of the imperfection form, the maximum deviation from the intended perfect geometry and the deviation measured using a simple measuring stick of dened length. These four simple alternative methods range over at least a factor of two in the quoted imperfection amplitude, so that comparisons between curves for different imperfection types must be drawn with care. It is later clear that the preferred comparison should be related to the tolerance measurement method to be adopted in design, but further research is certainly needed to improve these methods. Large amplitude imperfections: limit points and bifurcations The asymptotic studies of Koiter, Budiansky, Hutchinson, Yamaki and others described above are accurate for small amplitude imperfections only (usually much less than one wall thickness). At these small amplitudes, axisymmetric imperfections lead to bifurcation into circumferentially asymmetric buckling modes, whilst circumferentially asymmetric imperfections either pass a snap-through limit point (Fig. 2.10(a)) or bifurcate into a different asymmetric mode. However, large amplitude imperfections produce different effects. Axisymmetric large amplitude imperfections cause bifurcation into circumferentially unsymmetrical modes with very large buckles. Circumferentially unsymmetrical large amplitude imperfections often produce no maximum load, but a smooth progressive transition from prebuckling to postbuckling (Fig. 2.10(a)). Thus, at large amplitudes, the circumferentially unsymmetrical imperfection poses problems of interpretation, since no unique buckling load can be identied, and a less clear limit of acceptable deformation must be used. Moreover, the amplitude of the imperfection at which a clear peak load (limit point) is nally lost (leaving only a smoothly rising curve) depends very much on the form of the geometric imperfection. Thus, where large imperfections can occur in practice, unsymmetrical imperfection modes can be difcult to assess. For large amplitude axisymmetric imperfections, the situation is different. As the imperfection amplitude rises, the size of the critical buckling mode also increases (Fig. 2.11). The size of the critical buckle can easily encompass the whole shell, after which the end boundary conditions may cause the buckling strength to rise. Thus, with very large amplitude imperfections, a shell that was classed as medium length may move towards the short length category and deep imperfections may not cause as much strength loss as smaller ones. This places a burden of care on analysts to ensure that their models always capture the lowest buckling load of a system. A warning on this matter is given in the Eurocode on Shell Strength and Stability (ENV 1993-1-6 1999). These changes in behaviour are clearly related to the postbuckling curves in Fig. 2.8. In Fig. 2.8(a), repeated bifurcations lead to a steady fall in the circumferential mode, accompanied by progressively larger buckles in the axial direction (Fig. 2.8(b)). Where the shell is short (low Z ), and an imperfection transports the