Buckling of externally pressurised ellipsoidal domes with variable wall thicknesses

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the buckling of nontypical ellipsoidal domes under uniform external pressure. According to the strength and stiffness optimisation theory, the structure of the ellipsoidal dome was optimised respectively, and two meridional profiling curves of the ellipsoidal dome were obtained. Two mass-equivalent ellipsoidal domes with variable wall thickness and one mass-equivalent ellipsoidal dome with constant wall thickness were fabricated using CNC machining, with a nominal long-axis and short-axis radius of 100 and 75 mm, respectively. The geometry, wall thickness, and buckling load of each ellipsoidal dome were measured. The agreement between numerical predictions and experimental results is good. The results indicate that the ellipsoidal dome with variable wall thickness has a relatively large load-carrying capacity.