Effect of hydrochloric acid corrosion and CFRP coating on the buckling behavior of cylindrical shells under external pressure

Thin-walled cylindrical shells are widely used as silos, liquid tanks, marine structures, and industrial chemical plants. In such applications, the shells are mostly exposed to liquids. Corrosion occurs on surfaces when shells are filled with low-pH liquids. Corroded material loss decreases the thickness of the shells which in turn lessens their buckling capacity. The current study primarily aims to investigate the effects of corrosion on the buckling capacity of thin-walled cylindrical shells subjected to uniform external pressure. The model shells were half- or full- filled with 5% and 10% HCl (Hydrochloric Acid) solutions for corrosion. In order to attenuate the negative effects of corrosion, the cylinders were coated with varying sizes of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets. A total of 12 models of 800 × 400 × 0:45 mm in dimension were investigated in this research. The perfect non-corroded models were employed to compare the behavior of all models under study. The obtained results indicated that corrosion would cause a significant decrease in the buckling capacity of thin-walled cylindrical shells. It should be noted that the acid ratio, filling rate, and surface area coated with CFRP fabrics considerably affected the buckling capacity of cylinders. To be specific, coating the cylinders with one layer of CFRP moderated the buckling capacity loss. © 2022 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved.