Buckling of thick deep laminated composite shell of revolution under follower forces

Abstract

Laminated composite shells are commonly used in various engineering applications including aerospace and marine structures. In this paper, using semi-analytical finite strip method, the buckling behavior of laminated composite deep as well as thick shells of revolution under follower forces which remain normal to the shell is investigated. The stiffness caused by pressure is calculated for the follower forces subjected to external fibers in thick shells. The shell is divided into several closed strips with alignment of their nodal lines in the circumferential direction. The governing equations are derived based on first-order shear deformation theory which accounts for through thickness-shear flexibility. Displacements and rotations in the middle surface of shell are approximated by combining polynomial functions in the meridional direction as well as truncated Fourier series with an appropriate number of harmonic terms in the circumferential direction. The load stiffness matrix which accounts for variation of loads direction will be derived for each strip of the shell. Assembling of these matrices results in global load stiffness matrix which may be un-symmetric. Upon forming linear elastic stiffness matrix called constitutive stiffness matrix, geometric stiffness matrix and load stiffness matrix, the required elements for the second step analysis which is an eigenvalue problem are provided. In this study, different parameter effects are investigated including shell geometry, material properties, and different boundary conditions. Afterwards, the outcomes are compared with other researches. By considering the results of this article, it can be concluded that the deformation-dependent pressure assumption can entail to decrease the calculated buckling load in shells. This characteristic is studied for different examples.