L. Wu et Jf. Carney, INITIAL COLLAPSE OF BRACED ELLIPTIC TUBES UNDER LATERAL COMPRESSION, International journal of mechanical sciences, 39(9), 1997, pp. 1023-1036
The initial collapse behavior of elliptical tubes subjected to lateral
compression is investigated. Both unbraced and braced tubes are analy
sed, and the main factors which affect the initial collapse behavior a
re discussed and interpreted. Lower and upper bound theorems are appli
ed to bracket the collapse load in a direct manner. The initial collap
se loads for braced circular tubes, obtained as a special case of elli
ptical tubes, are compared to previous research results. The results a
nd concepts presented herein can be useful in the development of desig
n criteria for energy dissipating devices. Elliptical shapes, when loa
ded parallel to their major axes, can have an advantage over their cir
cular counterparts in that they possess larger collapse strokes and an
increased energy dissipation potential per unit mass. (C) 1997 Elsevi
er Science Ltd.