Plastic buckling of cylindrical shells under biaxial loading

The predictions for plastic buckling of shells are significantly affected by the plasticity model employed, in particular in the case of nonproportional loading. A series of experiments on plastic buckling of cylindrical aluminum alloy shells under biaxial loading (external pressure and axial tension), with well-defined loading and boundary conditions, was therefore carried out to provide experimental data for evaluation of the suitability of different, plasticity models. In the experiments, initial imperfections and their growth under load were measured and special attention was paid to buckling detection and load path control. The Southwell plot was applied with success to smooth the results. The results show that axial tension decreases resistance to buckling under external pressure in the plastic region due to softening of the material behavior. Comparison with numerical calculations usingJ ₂ deformation and incremental theories indicate that both theories do not predict correctly plastic buckling under nonproportional loading.Babcock (SEM Member), deceased, was Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125.