Dynamics of non-circular stiffened cylindrical shells

Abstract

The objective of this study is to assess the effect of non-circularity, i.e. spatially varying curvature, on the dynamics of stringer stiffened cylindrical shell structures. The transfer matrix method is used to study the effect of varying curvature on the normal modes and the frequency response of such structures. To obtain these results the transfer matrix for a varying curvature shell in conjunction with the transfer matrix techniques for stiffened circular structures are applied. A previously developed exact solution for the panel transfer matrix, where the curvature varies exponentially, is used in computing the numerical results. Responses of increasing curvature and decreasing curvature structures are compared with those of the circular structure.