Buckling of Orthotropic Conical Shells under External Pressure

Summary Donnell type stability equations for thin circular orthotropic conical shells are presented and solved for external pressure loading. The solution is likewise applied to stiffened conical shells by consideration of equivalent orthotropic shells. Typical cases are computed and compared with corresponding isotropic shells. Correlation with equivalent cylindrical shells then yields a simple approximate stability analysis for orthotropic or ring-stiffened conical shells under hydrostatic pressure.