Buckling behaviour of elliptical cylindrical shells and tubes under compression

This paper presents several issues that characterize the buckling behaviour of elliptical cylindrical shells and tubes under compression. First, a formulation of Generalised Beam Theory (GBT) developed to analyse the elastic buckling behaviour of non-circular hollow section (NCHS) members is presented. Since the radius varies along the cross-section mid-line, the main concepts involved in the determination of the deformation modes are adapted to account for the specific aspects related to elliptical cross-section geometry. After that, two independent sets of fully orthogonal deformation modes are determined: (i) local-shell modes satisfying the null membrane shear strain but exhibiting transverse extension and (ii) shell-type modes satisfying both assumptions of null membrane shear strain and null transverse extension. In order to illustrate the application, capabilities and versatility of the formulation, the local and global buckling behaviour of elliptical hollow section (EHS) members subjected to compression is analysed. In particular, in-depth studies concerning the influence of member length on the variation of the critical load and corresponding buckling mode shape are presented. Moreover, the GBT results are compared with estimates obtained by means of shell finite element analyses and are thoroughly discussed. The results show that short to intermediate length cylinders buckle mostly in local-shell modes, exhibiting only transverse extension, while intermediate length to long cylinders buckle mostly in shell-type modes (distortional and global modes), which are characterized by transverse bending and primary warping displacements. It is also shown that the present formulation is very efficient from the computational point of view since only three deformation modes (one local-shell, one distortional and one global) are required to evaluate the buckling behaviour of EHS cylinders for a wide range of lengths.     

GBT pre-buckling and buckling analyses of thin-walled members under axial and transverse loads

This paper presents an analytical approach for pre-buckling and buckling analyses of thin-walled members implemented within the framework of the Generalised Beam Theory (GBT). With the proposed GBT cross-sectional analysis, the set of deformation modes used in the analysis is represented by the dynamic modes obtained for an unrestrained frame representing the cross-section. In this manner, it is possible to account for the deformability of the cross-section in both pre-buckling and buckling analyses. Different loading conditions, including both axial and transverse arrangements, are considered in the applications to highlight under which circumstances the use of the GBT deformation modes is required for an adequate representation of the pre-buckling and buckling response. The numerical results have been validated against those determined using a shell element model developed in the finite element software ABAQUS.     

功能梯度矩形板的近似理论与解析解

提出了压电功能梯度矩形板在竖向载荷作用下的近似理论与解析解. 引入了板理论的Kirchhoff假设、Reissner-Mindlin假设和提出的补充假设, 并假设材料常数在板厚方向按指数规律变化. 推导了板在周边简支同时又接地情况下中性层法线转角的解和用Fourier级数表示的电势解. 该解在形式上比精确解简单得多, 进行数值计算时也相当方便与快捷. 计算结果与ANSYS软件用三维实体单元的有限元计算结果进行了比较, 证实了该方法即使在厚板情况下仍然具有很高的精度.      

Application of Ritz functions in buckling analysis of embedded orthotropic circular and elliptical micro/nano-plates based on nonlocal elasticity theory

A continuum model based on the nonlocal theory of elasticity is developed for buckling analysis of embedded orthotropic circular and elliptical micro/nano-plates under uniform in-plane compression. The nanoplate is considered to be rested on two-parameter Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation. The principle of virtual work is used to derive the governing vibration and stability equations. The weighted residual statements of the equations of motion are performed and the well-known Galerkin method is employed to obtain the nonlocal “Quadratic Functional” for embedded micro/nano-plates. The Ritz functions are taken to form an expression for transverse displacement which satisfies the kinematic boundary conditions. In this way, the entire nanoplate is considered as a single super-continuum element. Employing the Ritz functions eliminates the need for mesh generation and thus large number of degrees of freedom arising in discretization methods such as finite element (FE). The results show obvious dependency of critical buckling loads on the non-locality of the micro/nano elliptical plate, especially, at very small dimensions.     

组合圆柱壳静态屈曲的几个影响因素分析

本文的研究是以“九五”国家科技攻关专题“快堆主钠池堆芯抗震性能的安全评价方法研究、中的屈曲研究子课题为背景展开的,所用模型简化自中国实验快堆钠池主容,是由薄壁圆柱壳和多个加劲肋结构而成的组合圆柱壳体,本文分别采用大型有限元程度ANSYS 5．4和LGOR FEAS（SUPER SAP 93）,对该壳体进行了常温时水平,轴向荷载共同作用静态屈曲的计算,同时考虑了诸如塑性,边界条件及初始缺陷等因素的影响,并进行了相关实验研究,最后将有限元计算结果与实验所获得的静屈曲荷载进行比较,结果吻合较好。     

Stability and vibration of shear deformable plates––first order and higher order analyses

This work presents the highly accurate numerical calculation of the natural frequencies and buckling loads for thick elastic rectangular plates with various combinations of boundary conditions. The Reissener–Mindlin first order shear deformation plate theory and the higher order shear deformation plate theory of Reddy have been applied to the plate’s analysis. The governing equations and the boundary conditions are derived using the dynamic version of the principle of minimum of the total energy. The solution is obtained by the extended Kantorovich method. This approach is combined with the exact element method for the vibration and stability analysis of compressed members, which provides for the derivation of the exact dynamic stiffness matrix including the effect of in-plane and inertia forces. The large number of numerical examples demonstrates the applicability and versatility of the present method. The results obtained by both shear deformation theories are compared with those obtained by the classical thin plate’s theory and with published results. Many new results are given too.     

Non-linear buckling analysis of inclined circular cylinder-in-cylinder by the discrete singular convolution

The lateral buckling and helical buckling problem of a circular cylinder constrained by an inclined circular cylinder under a compressive force, torsion, and its own weight is complicated and difficult to obtain an exact analytical solution. Thus, the non-linear differential equation is solved incrementally using the discrete singular convolution (DSC) algorithm together with the Newton–Raphson method. Detailed formulations are worked out. A simple way to numerically simulate the helical buckling is proposed and solution procedures are given. Four examples with various inclined angles, weights per unit length of the inner cylinder, axial applied loads, and boundary conditions are investigated. To verify the formulations and solution procedures, comparisons are firstly made with data obtained using the finite element method. It is verified that under certain circumstance, only lateral or helical buckling alone will occur. On some other circumstance, both lateral buckling and helical buckling may occur and the critical helical buckling loads are higher than the critical lateral buckling loads if frictions are not considered. Some conclusions are made based on the results presented herein.     

Dynamic buckling analysis of composite cylindrical shells using a finite element based perturbation method

In this paper a finite element formulation of a reduction method for dynamic buckling analysis of imperfection-sensitive shell structures is presented. The reduction method makes use of a perturbation approach, initially developed for static buckling and later extended to dynamic buckling analysis. The implementation of a single-mode dynamic buckling analysis in a general purpose finite element code is described. The effectiveness of the approach is illustrated by application to the dynamic buckling of composite cylindrical shells under axial and radial step loads. Results of the reduction method are compared with results available in the literature. The results are also compared with full model finite element explicit dynamic analysis, and a reasonable agreement is obtained.     

ANALYSIS OF DAMAGE NEAR A CONDUCTING CRACK IN A PIEZOELECTRIC CERAMIC

The finite element formulation for analyzing static damage near a conducting crack in a thin piezoelectric plate is established from the virtual work principle of piezoelectricity. The damage fields under various mechanical and electrical loads are calculated carefully by using an effective iterative procedure. The numerical results show that all the damage fields around a crack tip are fan-shaped and the electric field applied has great influence on the mechanical damage,which is related to the piezoelectric properties.     

Buckling of soft-core sandwich plates with angle-ply face sheets by means of a C0 finite element formulation

In order to avoid using C¹ interpolation functions in finite element implementation of the previous zig–zag theories, artificial constraints, in which the first derivatives of transverse displacement will be replaced by the assumed variables, are usually employed. However, such assumption will violate continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces. Differing from previous work, this paper will propose a C⁰-type zig–zag theory for buckling analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates with general configurations. The first derivatives of transverse displacement have been taken out from a displacement field of the proposed zig–zag theory. Thus, the C⁰ interpolation functions are only required in finite element implementations of the proposed model. Without use of any artificial constraints, an eight-node quadrilateral element based on the proposed model is presented by incorporating the terms associated with the geometric stiffness matrix. In order to verify performance of the proposed model, several buckling problems of sandwich plates with soft core have been analyzed. Numerical results show that the proposed model is able to predict accurately buckling loads of the soft-core sandwich plates with varying fiber orientations of face sheets.     

Coupled bending-torsion vibration of a homogeneous beam with a single delamination subjected to axial loads and static end moments

Delaminations in structures may significantly reduce the stiffness and strength of the structures and may affect their vibration characteristics. As structural components, beams have been used for various purposes, in many of which beams are often subjected to axial loads and static end moments. In the present study, an analytical solution is developed to study the coupled bending-torsion vibration of a homogeneous beam with a single delamination subjected to axial loads and static end moments. Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and the "free mode" assumption in delamination vibration are adopted. This is the first study of the influences of static end moments upon the effects of delaminations on natural frequencies, critical buckling loads and critical moments for lateral instability. The results show that the effects of delamination on reducing natural frequencies, critical buckling load and critical moment for lateral instability are aggravated by the presence of static end moment. In turn, the effects of static end moments on vibration and instability characteristics are affected by the presence of delamination. The analytical results of this study can serve as a benchmark for finite element method and other numerical solutions.     

Large displacement analysis of shear deformable composite beams with interlayer slips

This paper presents a novel geometric non-linear finite element formulation for the analysis of shear deformable two-layer beams with interlayer slips. We adopt the co-rotational approach where the motion of the element is decomposed into two parts: a rigid body motion which defines a local coordinate system and a small deformational motion of the element relative to this local coordinate system. The main advantage of this approach is that the transformation matrices relating local and global quantities are independent to the choice of the geometrical linear local element. The effect of transverse shear deformation of the layers is taken into account by assuming that each layer behaves as a Timoshenko beam element. The layers are assumed to be continuously connected and partial interaction is considered by considering a continuous relationship between the interface shear flow and the corresponding slip. In order to avoid curvature and shear locking phenomena, the local linear element is formulated using “exact” displacement shape functions derived from the closed-form solution of the governing equations of a two-layer beam element. Finally, three numerical applications are presented in order to assess the performance of the proposed formulation.     

轴向应力波作用下圆柱壳弹性轴对称动力失稳有限元特征值分析

本文运用有限元特征值分析方法对应力波作用下圆柱壳弹性轴对称动力失稳问题进行了研究。基于应力波理论和相邻平衡准则导出了圆柱壳轴对称动力失稳时的有限元特征方程,在此方程中考虑了应力波效应及横向惯性效应,把圆柱壳弹性动力失稳问题归结为特征值问题。通过引入圆柱壳动力失稳时的波前约束条件实现了此类问题的有限元特征值解法。计算结果揭示了圆柱壳弹性轴对称动力屈曲变形发展的机理,以及轴向应力波和屈曲变形的相互作用规律。     

框架结构屈曲的精确有限元求解

基于屈曲微分控制方程的一般解,构造了Euler梁在轴力作用下的精确形函数,建立了用于框架结构屈曲分析的精确有限单元,得到了单元刚度矩阵和几何刚度矩阵的显式表达,并提出了基于常规特征值计算的迭代算法以确定屈曲载荷及相应失稳模态的精确解. 研究表明, 对于线性稳定性分析而言,常规框架有限单元可视为精确有限单元的一种近似. 若采用精确单元,无需进行网格细分就可以获得精确的屈曲载荷和失稳模态. 数值算例证明了新单元和算法的效率和精度.      

Numerical analysis of bifurcation buckling for rotationally periodic structures under rotationally periodic loads

By considering the characteristics of deformation of rotationally periodic structures under rotationally periodic loads, the periodic structure is divided into some identical substructures in this study. The degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) of joint nodes between the neighboring substructures are classified as master and slave ones. The stress and strain conditions of the whole structure are obtained by solving the elastic static equations for only one substructure by introducing the displacement constraints between master and slave DOFs. The complex constraint method is used to get the bifurcation buckling load and mode for the whole rotationally periodic structure by solving the eigenvalue problem for only one substructure without introducing any additional approximation. The finite element (FE) formulation of shell element of relative degrees of freedom (SERDF) in the buckling analysis is derived. Different measures of tackling internal degrees of freedom for different kinds of buckling problems and different stages of numerical analysis are presented. Some numerical examples are given to illustrate the high efficiency and validity of this method.     

复合板旋转约束刚度推导及箱型结构屈曲分析

基于结构稳定性理论,推导出正交各向异性纤维树脂增强复合材料箱型结构各板连接处旋转约束刚度的近似表达式．与以往的经验公式相比,考虑了材料的正交各向异性和截面尺寸的影响．通过对箱型结构的正交各向异性比、截面属性以及纵横比对旋转约束刚度的影响进行参数研究,验证了旋转约束刚度新公式的精确性和适用范围．通过比较采用不同近似表达式得到的结果与有限元计算结果的对比,表明本文的旋转约束刚度新公式可以更精确地用来计算箱型结构的临界屈曲载荷．     

Traveling waves vibrations and buckling of rotating anisotropic shells of revolution by finite elements

A quasi-analytical finite element procedure is developed which can obtain the frequency and buckling eigenvalues of prestressed rotating anisotropic shells of revolution. In addition to the usual centrifugal forces, the rotation effects treated also include the contribution of Coriolis forces. Furthermore, since a nonlinear version of Novoshilov's shell theory is employed to develop the element formulation, the effects of moderately large prestress deflection states can be handled. Due to the generality of solution procedure developed, the axisymmetric prestress states treated can also consist of torque loads. In order to illustrate the procedures capabilities, as well as the significant effects of Coriolis forces, torque prestress and material anisotropy, several numerical experiments are presented.     

Non-linear buckling and postbuckling behavior of thin-walled beams considering shear deformation

The static stability of thin-walled composite beams, considering shear deformation and geometrical non-linear coupling, subjected to transverse external force has been investigated in this paper. The theory is formulated in the context of large displacements and rotations, through the adoption of a shear deformable displacement field (accounting for bending and warping shear) considering moderate bending rotations and large twist. This non-linear formulation is used for analyzing the prebuckling and postbuckling behavior of simply supported, cantilever and fixed-end beams subjected to different load condition. Ritz's method is applied in order to discretize the non-linear differential system and the resultant algebraic equations are solved by means of an incremental Newton-Rapshon method. The numerical results show that the beam loses its stability through a stable symmetric bifurcation point and the postbuckling strength is in relation with the buckling load value. Classical predictions of lateral buckling are conservative when the prebuckling displacements are not negligible and the non-linear buckling analysis is required for reliable solutions. The analysis is supplemented by investigating the effects of the variation of load height parameter. In addition, the critical load values and postbuckling response obtained with the present beam model are compared with the results obtained with a shell finite element model (Abaqus).     

Nonlinear buckling optimization of composite structures considering “worst” shape imperfections

Nonlinear buckling optimization is introduced as a method for doing laminate optimization on generalized composite shell structures exhibiting nonlinear behaviour where the objective is to maximize the buckling load. The method is based on geometrically nonlinear analyses and uses gradient information of the nonlinear buckling load in combination with mathematical programming to solve the problem. Thin-walled optimal laminated structures may have risk of a relatively high sensitivity to geometric imperfections. This is investigated by the concepts of “worst” imperfections and an optimization method to determine the “worst” shape imperfections is presented where the objective is to minimize the buckling load subject to imperfection amplitude constraints. The ability of the nonlinear buckling optimization formulation to solve the laminate problem and determine the “worst” shape imperfections is illustrated by several numerical examples of composite laminated structures and the application of both formulations gives useful insight into the interaction between laminate design and geometric imperfections.     

A finite element displacement model valid for any value of the compressibility

In this paper it is shown how the displacement formulation of the theorem of minimum potential energy can be used with the finite element method to approximate both compressible and incompressible equilibria of linearly elastic, isotropic solids. The procedure is shown to be equivalent to the more complicated “mixed principle” technique, due to the use of numerical integration applied to the computation of the element stiffness matrices. Criteria for the choice of integration formulas and elements are discussed, and numerical examples are presented.