Buckling of composite shell structures using the spline finite strip method

Abstract

The development of an analysis capability for predicting the buckling stresses of composite laminated, prismatic shell structures is described. The basis of the capability is the spline finite strip method , which is presented in the contexts of both first-order shear deformation shell theory and thin shell theory. The structures considered might have arbitrary lamination and general boundary conditions, and the applied stress field in any component flat or curved plate may include shear stress as well as biaxial direct stresses . Multi-level substructuring procedures are used in an efficient solution procedure. The analysis capability is incorporated into a computer software package called PASSAS and selected applications using this package are presented to show the scope and power of the new capability.