International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

Bifurcation analysis of elasticplastic cylindrical shells

Ulo Lepik
Institute of Applied Mathematics, Tartu University, EE2400 Tartu, Estonia

Abstract
Bifurcation of axially loaded elasticplastic cylindrical shells in the case of axisymmetric buckling is considered. The effect
of stress waves travelling along the shell is taken into account. It is assumed that the shell material has linear strain
hardening. The analysis is carried out for both the deformation and for the flow theory of plasticity. For solving the
problem the quasi-bifurcation method is applied. Buckling threshold and spectrum of bifurcation times are calculated.
A coefficient characterizing exponential growth of the buckling amplitudes is introduced. Numerical examples are
presented. ( 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dynamic buckling; Elasticplastic; Cylindrical shells; Stress waves

1. Introduction
Dynamic plastic buckling of cylindrical shells
has been the subject of extensive research (for details see the corresponding literature, e.g. [15]). In
most of the published papers it has been assumed
that axial thrust is constant along the shell (in this
case we actually use the assumption that the speed
of axial waves is infinite). To get a better insight
into the buckling mechanism it is also necessary to
take into account the interaction between axial and
flexural waves. The solution of this problem is most
complicated because of interactions and reflections
of various waves. One way to overcome these difficulties is to make use of some numerical techniques
(e.g. FEM), but in this case the results are not
comprehensive and do not give us much information about the buckling mechanism.
Due to the considerable complexity of the dynamic elasticplastic buckling phenomenon, evi-

dently some simplifications in the method of solution must be made. In the first papers in this field
elastic shells are considered. Coppa [6] suggested
a phenomenological theory of buckling. Dynamic
stability of cylindrical shells subjected to a step
loading in the axial direction is discussed by
Tamura and Babcock [7] who in an approximate
manner have taken into account the effect of axial
inertia. For this purpose, recently some multi-degree-of-freedom models have been proposed (see
e.g. [8,9]); here the structure usually consists of
rigid segments, which are interconnected to each
other by non-linear springs.
An interesting technique for overcoming these
mathematical difficulties was proposed by Lee
[10,11], who introduced the quasi-bifurcation
method. Here it is assumed that the motion of the
structure can be considered as a sum of unperturbed and perturbed parts; the buckling problem is
treated as an initial-value, eigenvalue problem. The

0020-7462/98/$19.00 ( 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

PII: S 0 0 2 0 - 7 4 6 2 ( 9 8 ) 0 0 0 3 2 - 8

300

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

perturbation is regarded small; if deformations in

the unperturbed phase are also small, then all geometrical relations will be linear. The last circumstance simplifies the solution of the bifurcation
problems to a great extent. A shortcoming of the
quasibifurcation approach is the fact that it allows
us to analyse only the early time of buckling, but
does not give us any information about the postbuckling behaviour of the structure.
A similar approach for discussing the bifurcation
problem of elasticplastic structures under axial
dynamic loading was proposed by Lepik [12,13].
Since the load was applied instantaneously, the
effect of axial waves travelling along the structure
had to be taken into account. Locations of the
wavefronts and also stresses, strains and particle
velocities were calculated according to the method
of characteristics. In [12] plastic buckling of cylindrical shells struck axially with a mass was discussed. An extended version of this method was
proposed in [13], where modes with an exponentially growing amplitude were also taken into account. Such an approach allows us to get some
more information about the behaviour of bifurcation modes in the early buckling process. In the
present paper the approach of paper [13] has been
used for analysing the bifurcation of axisymmetric
cylindrical shells under axial impulsive loading.
It is well known that only relatively thick shells
buckle axisymmetrically (Thinner shells buckle in
a diamond pattern with a circumferencial wave
number. It is shown in [14] that, e.g. in the case of
mild steel shell transition to axisymmetric buckling
is predicted at R/h+150.) Duraluminum cylindrical shells were tested in [15] and for this relation
a smaller value R/h+25 was found.
An outline of the paper follows. In Section
2 basic equations for the prebuckling motion are
presented. Making use of the method of characteristics, the propagation of axial stress waves is investigated (Section 3). Different variants of the
bifurcation equation are investigated in Section 4.
For integrating these equations the variables are
separated (Section 5); in this section the method of
solution is also described. In order to compare
different variants of solution the case of a shell
under uniform thrust is discussed (Section 6). Some
numerical examples are given in Section 7.

2. Unperturbed motion
We shall confine ourselves to axisymmetric
motion of the shell, assuming that the whole
motion consists of unperturbed (prebuckling)
motion and perturbed motion. In this section we
shall discuss the prebuckling motion.
The governing equations are
L*
Lv*
x ". h
,
Lx*
Lt*

Lw*
L2M*
L
*
L2w*
#
*
# h ".h
,
x
Lx*
Lx*2
R
Lt*2
Lx*

(1)

were x* is the axial coordinate (origin of the x*-axis

is measured from the impact end section); t* the
time, . the density of the shell material, v* the axial
velocity, w* the deflection (measured radially inward to the shell), *, * the membrane forces and
x h
M* the bending moment.
If z* denotes the coordinate through the wall
thickness (measured from the midsurface) and
p*(x*, z*, t*), p*(x*, z*, t*) are the stress compox
h
nents, then in the case of a thin shell we have

P
P

h@2
p* dz*, *"
p* dz*,
x
h
h
~h@2
~h@2

*"
x

M*"

h@2

h@2

p*z* dz*.
x
~h@2

(2)

It is convenient to introduce the following nondimensional quantities:

x"

x*
z*
, z" ,

v"v*

w"

w*
t*
, t"
h

E
,
.

.
u*
, u" ,

p*
p
*
p*
p " x , p " h , e " 4, " x ,
h
4
x
x
p
ph
p
E
4
4
4
*
" h,
h ph
4

M"

4M*
.
p h2
4

(3)

In these formulae, E denotes the Youngs modulus,

and p is the yield stress. Now Eqs. (1) and (2)
4

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

obtain the form (primes and dots denote differentiation with respect to x and t):
vR
@ " ,
x e
4
1
w
MA#( w@)@#)2 " ,
x
h
4
e
4
where

P
P

(4b)

0.5
p dz, "
p dz,
x
h
h
~0.5
~0.5
0.5
p z dz
M"4
x
~0.5
and ) denotes the shell slenderness parameter
)"/JRh.
We shall use the deformation theory of plasticity
assuming for simplicity that Poissons ratio is equal
to 0.5. Since p "0, the stressstrain relations have
z
the form
"
x

0.5

(4a)

p
p
2p !p " % e , 2ph!p "2 % e .
(5)
x
h e x
x
e h
%
%
Here p and e are non-dimensional effective stress
%
%
and effective strain:
p2"p2!p p #p2, e2"4 (e2#e2#e e ). (6)
% 3 x
h
x
x h
h
x h
%
For characterizing the stress state we shall introduce the plastic modules j and u according to the
formulae
p
1
dp
1
%" (1!u),
%" (1!j).
(7)
e
e
de
e
%
4
%
4
In the following we shall confine ourselves to
materials with linear strain-hardening, then
j"const. and 0)j)1. The limit cases j"0 and
j"1 correspond to the elastic and ideal plastic
materials, respectively.
Florence and Goodier [5] analysing the unperturbed motion of cylindrical shells introduced the
simplification p +0. They showed that this condih
tion holds if i(R/)2@1, where i is the ratio of the
shell mass to the striking mass. Now it follows from
Eqs. (5) and (6) that
2e #e "0, p "Dp D, e "De D
x
h
%
x
%
x

301

and
e
p "(1!u) x .
(8)
x
e
4
In the case of linear strain-hardening material we
have
e
p "!j#(1!j) x.
(9)
x
e
4
It follows from Eqs. (8) and (9) that

e
(10)
u"j 1# 4 .
e
x
In the case of elastic deformations we have j"0
and Eq. (9) becomes
e
p " x.
x e
4

(9a)

3. Propagation of axial stress waves

Owing to the assumption p +0 the stress field
h
before buckling is unidimensional and the equations of motion in the dimensionless form are
e p@ "vR , v@"eR .
x
4 x
Making use of Eqs. (9) and (9a) we find

(11)

( j"0, 1) .
(12)
e@ "c2vR , v@"eR
j
x
x
Here c "1 and c "J1!j is the dimension0
1
less speed of the elastic and plastic wavefronts,
respectively. Eq. (12) are integrated by the method
of characteristics. The characteristic relations are
(for simplicity the subscript x is omitted):
v#c e"const. for x"!c t,
(13a)
j
j
v!c e"const. for x"c t ( j"0, 1).
(13b)
j
j
We shall assume that at the initial moment t"0,
the shell is subjected to axial impact. For this reason the end section x"0 starts moving with a velocity v , which is assumed to remain constant during
0
the whole motion. Since the shell material is linearly strain-hardening, the xt-plane is divided into
regions in which v and e have constant values
calculated from the characteristics [Eqs. (13a) and
(13b)]. The positiontime diagrams for this case are
presented in Fig. 1. The numerical subscript in the

302

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

Fig. 1. Positiontime diagram of wavefronts: thin lines denote elastic wavefronts, thick linesplastic wavefronts: (a) p (1)"0; (b)
x
u(1)"0; (c) p (0)"!1, p (1)"0; (d) p (0)"!1, u(1)"0.
x
x
x

symbols e, v, p denotes the number of regions in

Fig. 1. The following two cases are considered:
(i) If the end-section x"1 is free so that
p(1)"0, then we get the diagram in Fig. 1a. The
method of characteristics gives e "v "0,
1
1
e "!e , v "e , e "e (1/c !1)!v /c , v "v ,
2
4 2
4 3
4 1
0 1 3
0
e "0, v "2e .
4
4
4
(ii) The case where the section x"1 is fixed so
that u(1)"0 is shown in Fig. 1b. Now the values
e and v in regions 13 are the same as in case (i), but
e "!(1#1/c )e , v "0.
4
1 4 4
Noteworthy is also the case where p(0)"!1
(buckling of the shell takes place at yield stress); if
p(1)"0 (Fig. 1c) we find e "v "0, e "!e ,
1
1
2
4
e "0, v "2e . In the case u(1)"0 (Fig. 1d) we get
3
3
4
e "v "0, e "!e , v "e , e "!(1#1/c )e ,
1
1
2
4 2
1 3
1 4
v "0.
3
We have followed the positions of the wavefronts
only to point A in Fig. 1a and b and to point B in
Fig. 1c, since experiments have shown that the
buckling motion is completed within the time required for the elastic wave to transverse the shell
and return to the impact end.

4. Perturbed motion
A small lateral excitation, which provokes additional deflection dw (the symbol d denotes isochronic variation) is applied to the shell.
By varying Eq. (5) we obtain
p
p
2dp !dp "2 %de #2e d % ,
(14a)
x
h
x e
e x
%
%
p
p
(14b)
2dp !dp "2 %de #2e d % .
h
h
h
x
e
e
%
%

AB
AB

Since

AB

p
de
de
% "(u!j) % "(u!j) x
e
ee
ee
%
% 4
x 4
we find from Eqs. (14a) and (14b) that
d

1 de
2
de
x (4!3j!u)# (1!u) h,
dp "
x 3 e
3
e
4
4
2
(15)
dp " (1!u)(de #2de ).
x
h
h 3e
4
Assuming that u"0 and replacing the variations dp , dp , de , de with the rates p5 , p5 , eR ,
x
h
x
h
x h x
eR we find
h
1
2
p5 " [(4!3j) eR #2eR ], p5 " (eR #2eR ).
x 3e
x
h
h 3e x
h
4
4
(15a)
As was shown by Eq. (19) of Lepik [16] are the
PrandtlReuss equations in the case of an incompressible material. So we see that all our further
results, which correspond to the deformation theory of plasticity, remain valid also for a simple flow
theory if we assume u"0.
By varying Eq. (4b) we obtain
1
1
dMA# dwA#)2d " dw ,
x
h
4
e
4
where

P
P

0.5

0.5
dp dz, d "
dp dz,
x
h
h
~0.5
~0.5
0.5
dp z dz
dM"4
z
~0.5
d "
x

(16)

(17)

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

At the bifurcation, in some parts of the shell,

elastic unloading takes place. In these parts the
virtual work of the inner forces per unit volume is
negative

3e dM"!2(3j#u)f(1!f)de sign(dwA)
4
x
h
#4 uf(1!f)dw sign(dwA)
R

(18)
dA"p*de #p*de (0.
h h
x x
According to the KirchhoffLove hypotheses we
have

AB

h 2
h
de "de !
zdwA, de "! dw
x
x
h

(19)

Since in our case p*"0, p*(0, inequality (18)

x
h
can be written in the form

AB

h 2
(0 for loading,
de !
zdwA
x

'0 for unloading.

(20)

Let us denote by z the coordinate separating the

0
loading and unloading zone, then

AB

h 2
z dwA.
de "
0
x

(21)

Instead of the symbol z the non-dimensional

0
thickness of the plastic zone f is introduced. If
unloading takes place near the boundary z"0.5,
we have z "f!0.5 and dwA(0; if it happens
0
near the boundary z"!0.5 then we get
z "0.5!f and dwA'0. Joining both cases, Eq.
0
(21) can be rewritten in the form

AB

h 2
de "
(0.5!f)DdwAD.
x

(21a)

Next the integrals in Eq. (17) will be evaluated.

For this purpose Eqs. (15) and (19) are used whereby in the unloading zone j"u"0. By doing this
we find
h
3e d "[4!(3j#u)f]de !2 (1!uf)dw
4 x
x
R

AB

1 h 2
(3j#u)f(1!f)DdwAD,
#
2

AB

AB

1 h 2
[4!(3j#u)f
3

](3!6f#4f2)]dwA.

(22b)

(22c)

These results hold true independently of whether

the strain reversal takes place at z"0.5 or at
z"!0.5.
We shall assume that bifurcation proceeds at
constant axial forces and, consequently, d "0.
x
Taking into account Eq. (21b), we get from Eq.
(22a) an equation for determing the functions f and
w. The other equation is Eq. (16), if we shall substitute in it d and dM from Eqs. (22b) and (22c).
h
Both equations are coupled and non-linear. Besides, we must solve a boundary value problem for
the function w. This makes the solution of the
bifurcation problem extremely complicated and the
main advantage of our method, its simplicity, gets
lost. An approximate solution of this problem
which is based on the Galerkin method is presented
in the appendix.
Several authors (see e.g. Grigolyuk [17], Volmir
[15], Florence and Goodier [5], Lindberg and
Florence [2] and Jones [3]) have assumed that
buckling proceeds without strain reversal. This is
the well-known Shanley concept, which holds in
the case of increasing external loads. In our case the
buckling loads are constant, therefore this method
of solution may be regarded as approximate. In
the case of this concept we take f"1 in Eqs.
(22a)(22c). Making use of the condition d "0
x
we eliminate de from Eqs. (22a)(22c) and substix
tute the variations d and dM into Eq. (16). By
h
doing this we obtain the bifurcation equation

AB
AB

1
h 2
dwIV#e p dwA
(4!3j!u)
4 x
36

4(1!j) (1!u) 2
!
dw"dw .
4!3j!u
R

h
3e d "2(1!uf)de !4 (1!uf)dw
4 h
x
R
h 2
#
uf (1!f)DdwAD,

!
(22a)

303

(23)

Kachanov [18] has observed that in some cases

it would be difficult to fulfil in the buckling process
the condition of increasing external loads and he

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

304

recommends to use the assumption du,0. Since

now de "0 it follows from Eq. (21a) that f"0.5.
x
Substituting again the quantities d , dM from
h
Eqs. (22a), (22b) and (22c) into Eq. (16) we find

AB
AB

h 2
1
dwIV#e p dwA
!
(8!3j!u)
4 x

288
#

5 h
2 2
(2!u) dw"dw .
uDdwAD!
12 R
3 R

Eqs. (27a) and (27b) hold also in the case of

Kachanovs theory de "0 if we calculate the coefx
ficients A and B according to the equations

AB

2
6
A"
8!3j!u h

(24)

5. Method of solution
For integrating Eqs. (23) and (24) we separate the
variables x and t:
(25)

A similar approach has been used by Lee [11],

who solved the buckling equation by the Galerkin
method.
By substituting dw into Eq. (23) and separating
the variables we find

AB
AB D

1
h 2
1
IV#e p A
! (4!3j!u)
4 x

36
S
4(1!j) (1!u) 2
" "K,
!
R
S
4!3j!u

(26)

where K is an arbitrary constant. This result can be

rewritten in the form of two equations:
S !K"0,

(27a)

IV#AA#B"0,

(27b)

where
A"

AB
AB

36(!p ) e 2
x 4
,
4!3j!u h

2
36
B"
4!3j!u h

AB D

4(1!j)(1!u) 2
#K .
4!3j!u
R

(28)

AB
AB D

(28a)

2
288
B"
8!3j!u h
]

dw(x, t)"S(t) (x).

h
] 48e (!p )!5u sign A ,
4
x
R

2
2
#K .
(2!u)
3
R

(28b)

Eqs. (27a) and (27b) are linear differential equations with constant coefficients and can be solved
analytically. The solution of Eq. (27a), satisfying
initial conditions S(t )"S , SQ (t )"0 is
0
0
0
S"S cosJK(t!t ) for K(0,
0
0
S"S for K"0,
0

(29a)
(29b)

S"S coshJK(t!t ) for K'0.

(29c)
0
0
Here t denotes the instant at which bifurcation
0
takes place. It follows from Eqs. (29a), (29b) and
(29c) that for K)0 the amplitudes of the buckling
modes are bounded, but for K'0 they grow exponentially.
Since the quantities p and u are constant in
x
each region in Fig. 1, we could also integrate Eq.
(27b) analytically. The solution should identify the
boundary conditions and the continuity conditions
for , @, A, A@ at the inner boundaries. These
conditions give us a linear homogeneous system of
equations for evaluating the constants of integration. This system has a non-trivial solution only if
its determinant is zero. This requirement gives us
the time t at which bifurcation can take place. After
that it is not difficult to find the corresponding
buckling mode (x).
This system of equations has, in general, a complicated form. Therefore, it is more convenient to
integrate Eq. (27b) numerically over the whole interval x3[0, 1] (now the continuity conditions at
the inner boundaries are satisfied automatically).
The boundary conditions at x"0 and x"1 can be

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

satisfied in the following way. Let us consider the

shell for which the end-sections x"0 and x"1 are
simply supported. The boundary conditions are
then (0)"A(0)"0, (1)"A(1)"0. For
solving this boundary value problem we first find
particular solutions (x), (x) for which
1
2
(0)"A (0)"A@(0)"0,
@ (0)"1
and
1
1
1
1
(0)"@ (0)"A (0)"0, A@(0)"1. The solu2
2
2
2
tion
(x)"C (x)#C (x)
(30)
1 1
2 2
satisfies the boundary conditions (0)"A(0)"
0. The conditions (1)"A(1)"0 give
C (1)#C (1)"0,
(31a)
1 1
2 2
(31b)
C A (1)#C A (1)"0.
2 2
1 1
The determinant of this system must be zero:
(1) A (1)! (1) A (1)"0.
(32)
1
2
2
1
This equation holds for some discrete values of
t at which bifurcation can take place. One of the
constants C , C can be chosen freely, the other will
1 2
be calculated from Eq. (31a). By taking C "1 we
1
find
(1)
(x)" (x)! 1 (x).
(33)
1
(1) 2
2
Regarding the method of solution, we assign
some values to t, K and by integrating Eq. (27b) we
evaluate the functions (x), (x). If Eq. (32) is
1
2
not satisfied then at this instant bifurcation is not
possible and the parameters t, K must be varied
until an eigenvalue for t is found. Bifurcations can
take place for different values of the parameter K,
we shall choose the solution for which K has the
biggest value, since in this case the growth of the
buckle amplitudes is most rapid.
Since
Ldw* h
"
Lt*

E
h
dwR " c*SQ (x)
.
0

the speed of the growth of buckling amplitudes is

h
" c*SQ .
B 0

305

Making use of Eq. (29c) we find

h

B" S JK sinh JK(t!t ),

(34)
0
c*
0
0
where t is the bifurcation time.
0
It follows from this formula that the speed is
B
commonly small to be compared with the speed of
elastic waves and for t+t the buckling amplitudes
0
grow very slowly. Due to this fact new bifurcations
may be induced before the old ones have enough
strength to grow. It follows from here that for
characterizing the buckling mechanism we need the
whole spectrum of bifurcation times.
Experimental data have shown (see e.g. Ref. [2])
that in many cases early buckling has a great influence on the final state: the first buckles remain fixed
in position and merely grow in amplitude with
time. Therefore, for getting some estimates of the
final buckling forms we could choose some characteristic buckling modes and superpose them [the
amplitudes are calculated from Eq. (29c)]. So we get
the formula
l
dw+S + (x) cosh JK (t!t ),
(35
0
a
a
0a
a/1
where the subscript a denotes the number of the
corresponding bifurcation mode and t is its bifur0a
cation time. This method is, of course, approximate, butas follows from the examples discussed
belowgives quite acceptable results.
The case K"0 is also important, since it gives
the buckling threshold (the minimal time at which
buckling may occur).

6. Shell under uniform thrust

In this section we discuss the case where axial
stress is constant along the shell (the effect of
propagating axial waves is not taken into account).
We have to integrate Eq. (27b) with the boundary
conditions
(0)"A(0)"(1)"A(1)"0.
The following three cases must be distinguished:
(i) If A2'4B then the solution of Eq. (27b)
which satisfies the conditions (0)"A(0)"0 is
"C sin ax#C sin bx
1
2

(36)

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

306

where

S S

a"

A
#
2

S S

A2
!B, b"
4

A
!
2

Making use of Eqs. (28a) and (28b) a similar inequality holds for the Kachanovs method:
A2
!B.
4
(36a)

Fulfilling the conditions (1)"A(1)"0 we get

the equation
(a2!b2)sin a sin b"0.

(37)

From here two sets of solutions follow

a"mn,

b"mn (m"1, 2, 2).

The bifurcation mode has in both cases the form

"C sin mnx.
(ii) If A2"4B then we get
"C #sin cx#C x cos cx,
1
4

(38)

where c"J0.5A.
Satisfying the conditions (1)"A(1) we find
C "0 and
4
2c sin2 c"0;

(39)

consequently, c"mn and again "C sin mnx.

(iii) In the case A2(4B we find
"C cosh cx sin dx#C sinh cx cos dx,
1
2

(40)

where c"0.5J2JB!A, d"0.5J2JB#A.

Satisfying the conditions (1)"A(1)"0 we
obtain the equation
cosh2 c sin2 d#sinh2 c cos2 d"0,
which does not have a solution. So we see that in
this case bifurcations are not possible.
Case (i) gives us the buckling threshold if we take
K"0. Taking into account the fact that b(a we
find m*b/n; for the number of half-waves m we
shall take the least integer for which this inequality
is satisfied. In Case (i) we have A2'4B, and with
regard to Eq. (28) this inequality can be written in
the form
h
3e (!p )
4
x
)
.
R 2J1!jJ1!u

(41)

6e (!p )
h
4
x
)
. (41a)
R J1(8!3j!u) (2!u)#5 u sign A
3
8
The expression on the right-hand side of Eq.
(41a) has a minimal value if sign A"1
The case p "!1 (bifurcation takes place at the
x
yield stress) also deserves attention. Here e "!e
x
4
and it follows from Eq. (10) that u"0. The upper
bound for h/R we find from Eq. (41); the case of
elastic deformations, for which j"0, gives the
lower bound. So we have
3
h
3 e
4 .
e) )
2 4 R 2 J1!j

(42)

If h/R satisfies these inequalities then buckling

takes place at the yield stress. Corresponding
bounds for h/R can be obtained for the Kachanovs
method from Eq. (41a). In the case of the flow
theory we shall take u"0 in Eqs. (41) and (41a).
The largest value for K we get in Case (ii). Since
now c"J0.5A"mn the wave number of the preferred mode is m+J0.5A/n.
We have considered several variants for solving
the bifurcation problem. Which of these is most
adequate to reality can be clarified only on the
basis of experimental data. For this purpose, in the
following some examples are discussed.
Example 1
Florence and Goodier [5] performed experimental
tests with aluminum-alloy 6061-56 cylindrical
shells, which buckled plastically during axial impact against a rigid wall at various velocities. Let us
consider the shell no. 1, which had geometrical
parameters "7.62 cm, h"0.241 cm, R"
1.27 cm, the impact velocity was v*"101 m/s. The
0
material parameters are j"0.98, e "0.004. Since
4
the speed of elastic waves is c*"4989 m/s, the
0
non-dimensional impact velocity is v "0.0202.
0
As it was shown in Section 3, to the velocity
v corresponds axial strain e "e (1/c !1)!v /
0
x
4
1
0
c "!0.1186. It follows from Eqs. (9) and (10) that
1
p "!1.574, u"0.947; the shell slenderness parax
meter is )"13.8.

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

307

First we shall apply the deformation theory without strain reversal. Calculating A and B from
Eq. (28) we get A"2006.3, B"318584(1.3508
#K). For K"0 we have b"15.63; consequently,
in the case of the first bifurcations (bifurcations
threshold) the wave number is m"5. The maximum value of K is obtained for A2"4B, and is
K"1.81. In this case the number of half-waves is
m+J0.5A/n"10 (the experimental value found
by Florence and Goodier was m"8).
If we use the flow theory then u"0 and the
inequality Eq. (41) gives h/R)0.067. In the real
case we have h/R"0.190; consequently, according
to this theory bifurcation is not possible.
It is not difficult to check that in the case of the
Kachanovs theory the inequality Eq. (41a) is not
satisfied both for deformation theory and flow theory.
Carrying out computations for fO1 according
to the approximate theory (see Appendix), we find
that for all half-wave numbers m the constant K is
negative and, consequently, the amplitudes of the
bifurcation modes cannot grow.
Similar calculations were carried out also for the
specimens no. 17 and no. 23. These results are
presented in Table 1 (m/M is the relation of the
striking mass to the tube mass). Although the techniques used for calculating wave numbers in [5]
and in this paper are different, the results coincide
for specimen no. 1 and no. 17. As to the specimen
no. 23 there is a small difference in theoretical wave
numbers, but our result is nearer to the experimental value.
According to the Table 1 the experimental wave
numbers are somewhat smaller from the theoretical
values. This dissonance may be caused from the
fact that the impact velocity is taken for a constant
while in the real process it is a decreasing function
of time (see e.g. Refs. [19, 12]).

Somewhat unexpected is the fact that in the case

of specimens, tested in [5] buckling does not take
place according to the flow theory or to the
Kachanov theory. This is caused by the circumstances that the shells were relatively thick and
plastic strains considerably exceeded the value of
e (e.g. in the case of specimen no. 1 we have
4
h/R"0.19, De D/e "29.7, u"0.947). With the
x 4
purpose to clear up this matter a numerical
example, for which u"0.2, will be considered.

Table 1

With the purpose to illustrate the method proposed in Section 5 some computations were carried
out. The buckling equation was integrated by
means of the fourth-order RungeKutta method
with the step-size *x"0.002. It was assumed that
the end-section x"0 is simply supported (0)"
A(0)"0; it moves with a constant non-dimensional velocity v . If t(1 (the elastic wave front has
0

No. m/M

1
17
23

3.52
2.35
3.94

13.8
18.9
29.0

v
0

0.020
0.024
0.018

Number of half waves

Exper.

Our paper

Ref. [5]

8
11
15

10
13
19

10
13
21

Example 2
Here we shall take j"0.98, e "0.004,
4
e "!0.00503, p "!1.0051, /R"4, R/h"50.
x
x
Theoretically predicted numbers for the half-waves
are according to: (i) deformation theory (for
m"1)18, (ii) flow theory16, (iii) Kachanov
theory20.
Comparison of existing experimental results and
those based on simple theories of plasticity revealed
that better predictions for the bifurcation buckling
come from the deformation theory. The same conclusion seems to be valid also for the examples
discussed above.
Of course, the conclusions made on the basis of
these examples are insufficient to find out all the
advantages and disadvantages of the proposed
variants of solution. For this purpose, an extensive
theoretical and experimental work would be
needed, but this is not the goal of the present paper.
Taking into account the results is this Section and
with the aim to keep the solution simple we shall
use in the following the deformation theory, ignoring the strain reversal.

7. Numerical examples illustrating the method of

solution

308

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

not reached the end section x"1), then in the

section m"t a moving plastic hinge appears and
(m)"@(m)"0. In the case t'1 we assume that
the end-section x"1 is free and, consequently,
A(1)"A@(1)"0.
Some results of computation are presented in
Figs. 24. To start with we shall use the data for the
shell specimen no. 1 from the paper by Florence
and Goodier [5] (see Example 1 in Section 6). Some
bifurcation modes are presented in Fig. 2. From
these calculations the tendency that by increasing
t the maximal possible values of K also grow,
becomes apparent. Making use of Eq. (35) the third
modes in Fig. 2a and b were superposed (the value

t"4 has been taken). The result is presented in Fig.

3. It is worth mentioning that this curve is quite
similar to curves in Fig. 5. 24 of Lindberg and
Florence [2], which correspond to static loading.
Next we shall consider the case p (0)"!1 (bix
furcation takes place at the yield stress). If we take
e "0.003, j"0.99 then according to Eq. (42) we
4
find that 0.0045(h/R(0.045.
For the shell parameters we take /R"2,
h/R"0.04, besides v "e "0.003. Some bifurca0
4
tion modes for the variant p (1)"0 are shown in
x
Fig. 4. It follows from this figure that the shape of
the bifurcation modes is more complicated as in the
case of Fig. 2 and it is somewhat difficult to find

Fig. 2. Bifurcation modes for the shell specimen no. 1 [5]: (a) t(1; (b) t'1, u(1)"0; (c) t'1, p (1)"0.
x

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

309

Fig. 3. Superposition of bifurcation modes shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4. Bifurcation modes for a shell for which the bifurcation takes place at the yield stress: (a) t(1; (b) t'1.

proper modes which could be superposed according to Eq. (35).

We are completely aware that these numerical
examples are insufficient for experimental control
of the proposed method, but unfortunately besides
Ref. [5] we do not know any other high-speed
camera experiments, in which the effects of the
moving axial stress front would be observed.

8. Conclusions
A geometrically linear model, which allows to
take into account the effect of travelling axial waves
for analysing the buckling phenomenon, is proposed. The main advantage of this method is
its simplicity. Nevertheless, it casts some light
on the buckling mechanism. It provides with the

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

310

possibility of calculating the buckling threshold

and of analysing the early buckling phase.
Due to the linearity of the model we are not able
to follow the post-buckling process as a whole (new
bifurcations may appear and the wave number may
change). We also cannot say anything definite
about the collapse of the shell.
In spite of its linearity our model allows to draw
some conclusions about the post-buckling phase:
by calculating the coefficient of exponential growth
we can find the preferred modes which grow in the
buckling process most rapidly. Superposition of
such modes allows us to make some guesses about
the final form of the buckled shell.

Appendix: integration of the bifurcation equation

considering the strain reversal
We shall integrate the bifurcation Eq. (16) with
the aid of the Galerkin method:

PA

1 1
1
dMA# dwA#)2d ! dw dw"0.
x
h e
4
0
4
(A1)

dw
"0.
Ddw@@D

(A4)

where
a"3j#u,

b"!2(2!cu),

c"4(1!c),

A B

) 2
.
nm

c"

A schematic distribution of the loading and unloading zones is shown in Fig. 5.

Now we shall turn to Eq. (A1). By integrating the
first term in this equation twice by parts we find

dMA sin mnx dx"!(mn)2

dM sin mnx dx.

0
0
Taking into account this result, substituting Eqs.
(21a), (22b) and (22c) into Eq. (A1) and carrying out
the integrations we obtain
K"!

(A2)

Here m is an integer (the number of half-waves

along the shell).
By substituting the variation de from Eq. (21a)
x
into Eq. (22a) and taking into account the condition d "0 we find
x
4(1!2f)#(3j#u)f2
!4)2(1!uf)

1
f" (!b$Jb2!ac),
a

AB

1
h
(mn)4
[4!(3j#u)f2(3!2f)]
36

2 h
#(mn)2e (!p )#
(mn)2J(1!uf)
4
x
3R

Let us separate the variables

dw"S(t) sin mnx.

the coordinate x and time t). It follows from Eq.

(A3) that

(A3)

According to Eq. (A2) we have

S
](1!2f)" .
S

(A5)

Here symbol J denotes the integral

P
G

1
sin mnxDsin mnxDdx
0
0
if m is even,
"
0.5/m if m is odd.

J"

(A6)

It follows from Eq. (A5) that Eq. (27a) holds

and the constant K has the same meaning as in

A B

1 2 S
dw
"
.
mn DSD
Ddw@@D
Since we are interested only in exponentially
growing bifurcation amplitudes we take S'0 and
S"DSD. Consequently, in the case of the approximate solution considered here, the thickness of the
plastic zone f is constant (it does not depend upon

Fig. 5. Distribution of loading and unloading zones in the crosssection of the shell (loading zones are streaked).

U$ . Lepik / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 34 (1999) 299311

Section 5. So we see that for obtaining growing

buckling amplitudes we must find such wave numbers m for which K'0. The integer m for which
K has the largest value gives us the preferred mode.

References
[1] A.S. Volmir, Nonlinear Dynamics of Plates and Shells,
Moscow, Nauka 1972 (in Russian).
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Washington, Contract No. DNA 001-78-C-0287 (1983);
Martinus Nijhoff, Norvell, MA (1987).
[3] N. Jones, Structural Impact, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1989.
[4] G.I. Simitses, Dynamic Stability of Suddenly Loaded
Structures, Springer, New York, 1990.
[5] A.L. Florence, J.N. Goodier, Dynamic plastic buckling of
cylindrical shells in sustained axial compressive flow,
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shell under longitudional impact. Report R 60 SD 494,
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Space Vehicle Department, 1960.
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[8] D. Karagiozova, N. Jones, Multi-degree-of-freedom model
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Solids Struct. 33 (23) (1996) 33773398.

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[9] A.N. Kounadis, C. Gantes, G. Simitses, Nonlinear dynamic buckling of multi-DOF structural dissipative systems under impact loading, Int. J. Impact Engng 19 (1)
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