Buckling of thin-walled conical shells under uniform external pressure

Shells are for the most part the deep-seated structures in manufacturing submarines, missiles, tanks and their roofs, and fluid reservoirs: therefore it is a matter of concern to bring about some basic regulations associated with the existing codes. Above all, truncated conical shells (frusta) and shallow conical caps (SCC) subjected to external uniform pressure when discharging liquids or wind loads are discussed closely in this paper concerning and thrashing out their empirical nonlinear responses along with envisaging numerical methods in contrast. The buckling aptitude of shells is contingent upon two leading geometric ratios of "slant-length to radius" (L/R) and "radius to thickness" (R/t). In this paper, developing six frusta and four shallow cap specimens and their relevant FE models, use is made of laboratory modus operandi to enumerate buckling elastic and plastic responses and asymmetric imperfection sensitivity, whose adequacy has been reckoned through comparisons with arithmetical and numerical data correspondingly. These obtained upshots were aimed at validating and generalizing the data for unstiffened truncated cones and SCC in full scale. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.