Optimum design of hierarchical stiffened shells for low imperfection sensitivity

A concept of hierarchical stiffened shell is proposed in this study, aiming at reducing the imperfection sen- sitivity without adding additional weight. Hierarchical stiffened shell is composed of major stiffeners and minor stiff- eners, and the minor stiffeners are generally distributed between adjacent major stiffeners. For various types of geo- metric imperfections, e.g., eigenmode-shape imperfections, hierarchical stiffened shell shows significantly low imper- fection sensitivity compared to traditional stiffened shell. Furthermore, a surrogate-based optimization framework is proposed to search for the hierarchical optimum design. Then, two optimum designs based on two different opti- mization objectives （including the critical buckling load and the weighted sum of collapse loads of geometrically imperfect shells with small- and large-amplitude imperfections） are compared and discussed in detail. The illustrative example demonstrates the inherent superiority of hierarchical stiffened shells in resisting imperfections and the effectiveness of the proposed framework. Moreover, the decrease of imperfection sensitivity can finally be converted into a decrease of structural weight, which is particularly important in the development of large-diameter launch vehicles.

Generatrix shape optimization of stiffened shells for low imperfection sensitivity

According to previous studies,stiffened shells with convex hyperbolic generatrix shape are less sensitive to imperfections.In this study,the effects of generatrix shape on the performances of elastic and plastic buckling in stiffened shells are investigated.Then,a more general description of generatrix shape is proposed,which can simply be expressed as a convex B-spline curve(controlled by four key points).An optimization framework of stiffened shells with a convex B-spline generatrix is established,with optimization objective being measured in terms of nominal collapse load,which can be expressed as a weighted sum of geometrically imperfect shells.The effectiveness of the proposed framework is demonstrated by a detailed comparison of the optimum designs for the B-spline and hyperbolic generatrix shapes.The decrease of imperfection sensitivity allows for a significant weight saving,which is particularly important in the development of future heavy-lift launch vehicles.

Beam Approximation for Dynamic Analysis of Launch Vehicles Modelled as Stiffened Cylindrical Shells

A beam approximation method for dynamic analysis of launch vehicles modelled as stiffened cylindrical shells is proposed.Firstly,an initial beam model of the stiffened cylindrical shell is established based on the cross-sectional area equivalence principle that represents the shell skin and its longitudinal ribs as a beam with annular cross-section,and the circumferential ribs as lumped masses at the nodes of the beam elements.Then,a fine finite element model(FE model)of the stiffened cylindrical shell is constructed and a modal analysis is carried out.Finally,the initial beam model is improved through model updating against the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the fine FE model of the shell.To facilitate the comparison between the mode shapes of the fine FE model of the stiffened shell and the equivalent beam model,a weighted nodal displacement coupling relationship is introduced.To prevent the design parameters used in model updating from converging to incorrect values,a pre-model updating procedure is added before the proper model updating.The results of two examples demonstrate that the beam approximation method presented in this paper can build equivalent beam models of stiffened cylindrical shells which can reflect the global longitudinal,lateral and torsional vibration characteristics very well in terms of the natural frequencies.

A DONNELL TYPE THEORY FOR FINITE DEFLECTION OF STIFFENED THIN CONICAL SHELLS COMPOSED OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS

A Donnell type theory is developed for finite deflection of closely stiffened truncated laminated composite conical shells under arbitrary loads by using the variational calculus and smeared-stiffener theory. The most general bending-stretching coupling and the effect of eccentricity of stiffeners are considered. The equilibrium equations, boundary conditions and the equation of compatibility are derived. The new equations of the mixed-type of stiffened laminated composite conical shells are obtained in terms of the transverse deflection and stress function. The simplified equations are also given for some commonly encountered cases.

Plastic Buckling of Stiffened Torispherical Shell

This paper uses the nonlinear prebuckling consisten theory to analyse the plasticbuckling problem of of stiffned torispherical shell under uniform exlernal pressure. Thebuckling equation and energy expressions of the shell are built. the calculation formulais presented Numerical examples show that method in ths paper has betterprecision and the calculating process is very simple.

Nonlinear analysis on dynamic buckling of eccentrically stiffened functionally graded material toroidal shell segment surrounded by elastic foundations in thermal environment and under time-dependent torsional loads

The nonlinear analysis with an analytical approach on dynamic torsional buckling of stiffened functionally graded thin toroidal shell segments is investigated. The shell is reinforced by inside stiffeners and surrounded by elastic foundations in a thermal environment and under a time-dependent torsional load. The governing equations are derived based on the Donnell shell theory with the yon Karman geometrical nonlinearity, the Stein and McElman assumption, the smeared stiffeners technique, and the Galerkin method. A deflection function with three terms is chosen. The thermal parameters of the uniform temperature rise and nonlinear temperature conduction law are found in an explicit form. A closed-form expression for determining the static critical torsional load is obtained. A critical dynamic torsional load is found by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method and the Budiansky-Roth criterion. The effects of stiffeners, foundations, material, and dimensional parameters on dynamic responses of shells are considered.

PLASTIC BUCKLING OF STIFFENED TORISPHERICAL SHELL

This paper uses the nonlinear prebuckling consisten theory to analyse the plaslicbuckling problem of stiffened torispherical shell under uniform external pressure. Thebuckling equation and energr expressions of the shell are built, the calculalion formulais presented. Numerical examples show that the method in this paper has betterprecision and the calculating process is very simple.

Vibration and Acoustic Radiation from Orthogonally Stiffened Infinite Circular Cylindrical Shells in Water

Based on the motion differential equations of vibration and acoustic coupling system for thin elastic shells with ribs, by means of the Fourier integral transformation and the Fourier inverse transformation, as well as the stationary phase method, an analytic solution, which has satisfying computational effectiveness and precision, is derived for the solution to the vibration and acoustic radiation from a submerged stiffened infinite circular cylinder with both ring and axial ribs. It is easy to analyze the effect of stiffening supports in the acoustic radiation field by use of the formulas obtained by the presented method and corresponding numerical computation. It is shown that the axial-stiffeners can improve the mechanical and acoustical characteristics. Moreover, the present method can be used to study the acoustic radiation mechanism of the type of structure.

Postbuckling of Imperfect Stiffened Cylindrical Shells Under Combined External Liquid Pressure and Axial Compression

posthuckling analysis is presented for the stilTened cylindrical shell of finite length subjected to combined loading of external liquid pressure and axial compression. The formulations are based on a boundary layer theory of shell buckling, which includes the effects of nonlinear prebuckling deformations, nonlinear large deflections in the postbuckling range and initial geometrical imperfections of the shell. The 'smeared stifl'cner' approach is adopted for the stiffencrs. In the analysis a singular perturbation technique is used (o determine the interactive buckling loads and the postbuckling paths. Numerical examples cover the performance of perfect and imperfect, stringer and ring stiffened cylindrical shells. Typical results arc presented in the dimcnsionless graphical form.

BUCKLING AND POSTBUCKLING OF STIFFENED CYLINDRICAL SHELLS UNDER AXIAL COMPRESSION

Buckling and postbuckling behaviors of perfect and imperfect, stringer and ortho/ropically stiffened cylindrical shells have been studied under axial compression. Based on the boundary la ver theory for the buckling oj thin elastic shells suggested in ref. [1], a theoretical analysis is presented. The effects of material properties of stiffenefs and skin, which are made of different materials, on the huckling load and postbuckling behavior of stiffened cylindrical shells have also been discussed.

POSTBUCKLING OF IMPERFECT STIFFENED CYLINDRICAL SHELLS UNDER COMBINED EXTERNAL PRESSURE AND HEATING

A postbuckling analysis is presented for a stiffened cylindrical shell of finite length subjected to combined loading of external pressure and a uniform temperature rise. The formulations are based on a boundary layer theory of shell buckling, which includes the effects of nonlinear prebuckling deformations, nonlinear large deflections in the postbuckling range and initial geometrical imperfections of the shell. The 'smeared stiffener' approach is adopted for the stiffeners. The analysis uses a singular perturbation technique to determine the interactive buckling loads and the postbuckling equilibrium paths. Numerical examples cover the performances of perfect and imperfect, stringer and ring stiffened cylindrical shells. Typical results are presented in dimensionless graphical form.

KOITER-BOUNDARY LAYER SINGULAR PERTURBATION METHOD FOR AXIAL COMPRESSED STIFFENED CYLINDRICAL SHELLS

The double singularities induced by bifurcation point and boundary layer in non-dimensionalized nonlinear boundary-layer Karman-Donnell equations for axially compressed stiffened cylindrical shells can be treated by Koiter-boundary layer singular perturbation method in this paper. It is demonstrated that the method has high computing efficiency and accuracy based on the analysis of AS-2 shell, and some new conclusions can be directly obtained from the perturbation formulas which are very well in agreement with experimental phenomenon of axially compressed stiffened cylindrical shells.

New matrix method for response analysis of circumferentially stiffened non-circular cylindrical shells under harmonic pressure

Based on the governing equation of vibration of a kind of cylindrical shells written in a matrix differential equation of the first order, a new matrix method is presented for steady-state vibration analysis of a noncircular cylindrical shell simply sup- ported at two ends and circumferentially stiffened by rings under harmonic pressure. Its difference from the existing works by Yamada and Irie is that the matrix differential equation is solved by using the extended homogeneous capacity precision integration＇ approach other than the Runge-Kutta-Gill integration method. The transfer matrix can easily be determined by a high precision integration scheme. In addition, besides the normal interacting forces, which were commonly adopted by researchers earlier, the tangential interacting forces between the cylindrical shell and the rings are considered at the same time by means of the Dirac-δ function. The effects of the exciting frequencies on displacements and stresses responses have been investigated. Numerical results show that the proposed method is more efficient than the aforementioned method.

SPSM and its application in cylindrical shells

In naval architectures, the structure of prismatic shell is used widely. But there is no suitable method to analyze this kind of structure. Stiffened prismatic shell method (SPSM) presented in this paper, is one of the harmonic semi-analytic methods. Theoretically, strong stiffened structure can be analyzed economically and accurately. SPSM is based on the analytical solution of the governing differential equations for orthotropic cylindrical shells. In these differential equations, the torsional stiffness, bending stiffness and the exact position of each stiffener are taken into account with the Heaviside singular function. An algorithm is introduced, in which the actions of stiffeners on shells are replaced by external loads at each stiffener position. Stiffened shells can be computed as non-stiffened shells. Eventually, the displacement solution of the equations is acquired by the introduction of Green function. The stresses in a corrugated transverse bulkhead without pier base of an oil tanker are computed by using SPSM.

Buckling analysis of the shell of a refuge chamber in a coal mine under uniform axial compression

A stiffened cylindrical shell is normally used in refuge chambers of a coal mine. Based on the method of application and shape characteristics of a refuge chamber, we simplified its shell as an orthotropic cylinder. The basic buckling equation of the stiffened cylindrical shell under uniform axial compression was deduced by using a Donnell function. The factors affecting its buckling capacity were studied by theoretical analysis and numerical calculations. The results reveal that the torsional rigidity of the longitudinal stiffener had little effect on the buckling capacity of the shell and that the critical load of an externally stiffened cylindrical shell is higher than that of an internally stiffened cylindrical shell.

Mechanical and thermal postbuckling of FGM thick circular cylindrical shells reinforced by FGM stiffener system using higher-order shear deformation theory

The postbuckling of the eccentrically stiffened circular cylindrical shells made of functionally graded materials （FGMs）, subjected to the axial compressive load and external uniform pressure and filled inside by the elastic foundations in the thermal environments, is investigated with an analytical method. The shells are reinforced by FGM stringers and rings. The thermal elements of the shells and stiffeners in the fundamental equations are considered. The equilibrium and nonlinear stability equations in terms of the displacement components for the stiffened shells are derived with the third-order shear deformation theory and Leckhniskii smeared stiffener technique. The closed-form expressions for determining the buckling load and postbuckling load-deflection curves are obtained with the Galerkin method. The effects of the stiffeners, the foundations, the material and dimensional parameters, and the pre-existent axial compressive and thermal load are considered.

Buckling analysis of functionally graded material(FGM) sandwich truncated conical shells reinforced by FGM stiffeners filled inside by elastic foundations

An analytical solution for buckling of an eccentrically stiffened sandwich truncated conical shell is investigated. The shell consists of two functionally graded material （FGM） coating layers and a core layer which are metal or ceramic subjected to an axial compressive load and an external uniform pressure. Shells are reinforced by stringers and rings, in which the material properties of shells and stiffeners are graded in the thickness direction following a general sigmoid law distribution. Two models of coated shell-stiffener arrangements are investigated. The change of the spacing between stringers in the meridional direction is taken into account. A couple set of three-variable- coefficient partial differential equations in terms of displacement components are solved by the Galerkin method. A closed-form expression for determining the buckling load is obtained. The numerical examples are presented and compared with previous works.

Nonlinear stability of functionally graded material(FGM)sandwich cylindrical shells reinforced by FGM stiffeners in thermal environment

In this paper, Donnell＇s shell theory and smeared stiffeners technique are improved to analyze the postbuckling and buckling behaviors of circular cylindrical shells of stiffened thin functionally graded material （FGM） sandwich under an axial loading on elastic foundations, and the shells are considered in a thermal environment. The shells are stiffened by FGM rings and stringers. A general sigmoid law and a general power law are proposed. Thermal elements of the shells and reinforcement stiffeners are considered. Explicit expressions to find critical loads and postbuckling load-deflection curves are obtained by applying the Galerkin method and choosing the three-term approximate solution of deflection. Numerical results show various effects of temperature, elastic foundation, stiffeners, material and geometrical properties, and the ratio between face sheet thickness and total thickness on the nonlinear behavior of shells.

Stress analysis of clamped-free grid composite cylindrical shell under various end loadings

Stress analysis of cylindrical grid-stiffened composite shells was conducted under transverse loading,pure bending,torsion and axial compression under clamped-free boundary condition.Electrical strain gauges were employed to measure the strains in transverse loading case to validate the finite element analysis which was conducted using ANSYS software.Good agreement was obtained between the two methods.It was observed that stiffening the composite shell with helical ribs decreased the average equivalent Von Mises stress on the shell.The reduction of the stress seemed to be higher in the intersection of two ribs.It was also seen that the stress reduction ratio was higher when the structure was under bending compared to torsion and axial compression.The reduction ratio was approximately 75% in pure bending in the intersection point of the ribs,while it was approximately 25% in torsion.Therefore,it is concluded that the presence of the ribs is more effective under bending.Failure analysis was done using Tsai-Wu criterion.The ribs were observed to result in maximum and minimum increase in the failure load of the structure under transverse bending and torsional loading,respectively.

Vibrational power flow of a finite cylindrical shell with discrete axial stiffeners

The structural wave power flows in an elastic finite cylindrical shell with discrete axial stiffeners are studied when a simple harmonic force is applied on it. The equations of motion of the shell are derived by using Flügge equation and Hamilton variational principle, and the responses of the shell are obtained. By use of the basic definition of the power flow, the characteristics of axial propagation of the power flow supplied by input structure and carried by different shell internal forces of a forced shell are investigated. The effects of parameters, such as relative location of driving force and stringer, driving force type and structural damping on the vibrational power flows in the shell, are discussed. These provide some theoretical bases for vibration control and noise reduction of this kind of structure.