Buckling Analysis of Conical Shell Openings with Reinforced Perimeter Walls under Uniform External Pressure

Abstract

In this paper, the effects of opening parameters and reinforcing wall parameters on the bearing capacity of conical shells with an opening were investigated. Under the condition that the conical shells with an opening were all reinforced with walls, the opening position and the inclination angle of the reinforced wall were selected as variables to be used in the numerical analysis and hydrostatic pressure test. The nonlinear numerical buckling load and the test results were compared. The difference was within 17.8%, which verified the rationality of the finite element model. The final buckling mode obtained by numerical calculation of the measured data was in good agreement with the real collapse mode obtained by hydraulic testing of the actual model. Then the influence of the opening position and inclination angle of the reinforcing wall on the buckling load of the conical shell under different opening rates was analyzed in detail.