Postbuckling analysis of imperfect non-linear viscoelastic cylindrical panels

The postbuckling behavior of imperfect cylindrical panels made of a non-linear viscoelastic material is investigated. The material is modeled according to the Schapery representation of non-linear viscoelasticity. Solutions are developed to calculate the growth of the initial imperfection in time by using the Donnell equilibrium equations for geometrically non-linear cylindrical panels. The equations are derived symbolically using Mathematica in the form of a system of first-order non-linear differential equations. A numerical example is presented and discussed. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.