THERMAL BUCKLING OF IMPERFECT CYLINDRICAL SHELLS

A thermal buckling analysis of imperfect circular cylindrical shells of isotropic material is considered. The Donnell and the improved Donnell stability equations are considered, and two models for imperfection - namely, the Wan-Donnell and Koiter models - are adopted. The thermal loads include the uniform temperature rise, linear radial, and linear axial temperature differences. The Wan-Donnell model for imperfection has led to a closed-form solution for the thermal buckling of short cylindrical shells under the described thermal loads.