Optimal design of axisymmetric plastic shallow shells of von Mises material

Abstract

An optimal design technique developed earlier for axisymmetric plates and circular cylindrical shells is accommodated for shallow spherical shells subjected to uniform transverse pressure. Material of the shells is assumed to be rigid-plastic obeying the von Mises yield condition and the associated deformation law. The post-yield behaviour of the shells is taken into account. The weight minimization is performed under the condition that the maximal deflection of the shell of variable thickness coincides with the deflection of the reference shell of constant thickness. The problem is transformed into a non-linear boundary value problem which is solved numerically.