Plastic collapse of circular conical shells under uniform external pressure
The article reports on two theoretical investigations and an experimental investigation into the collapse of six circular conical shells under uniform external pressure. Four of the vessels collapsed through plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling and one vessel collapsed through plastic axisymmetric buckling. A sixth vessel failed in a mixed mode of plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling, combined with plastic axisymmetric buckling. The theoretical and experimental investigations appeared to indicate that there was a link between plastic non-symmetric bifurcation buckling and plastic axisymmetric buckling. The theoretical investigations were via the finite element method and were used to provide a design chart for these vessels.
plastic conical shells buckling axisymmetric finite element lobar non-linear