Numerical simulation on buckling of combined multilayered unequal-thickness cylindrical shell

The influence of the characteristic factor of unequal-thickness on critical buckling load was analyzed by numerical simulation method based on geometric features of large vertical combined cylindrical shell.The character of unequal-thickness was considered as geometrical defect,which decreases the critical stress of classical shell buckling to some extent.Finite element analysis(FEA) models of combined multilayered unequal-thickness cylindrical shell were built to analyze the buckling of combined cylindrical shell under different loadings.Critical loads of instability buckling under different loadings were obtained to verify the influence regularity of hoop stress on the buckling of combined cylindrical shell.Results show that the characteristic factor of unequal-thickness can largely decrease the critical load of classical shell buckling.And the number of layers and the thickness difference of adjacent shell courses have the biggest influence on critical buckling load.