Gj. Simitses et al., SCALED MODELS FOR LAMINATED CYLINDRICAL-SHELLS SUBJECTED TO EXTERNAL-PRESSURE, Mechanics of composite materials and structures, 4(3), 1997, pp. 267-280
This study investigates problems associated with the design of sealed
down models for laminated cylindrical shells. For better understanding
the applicability of scaled-down models in designing laminated compos
ite structures, an analytical investigation was undertaken to assess t
he feasibility of their use. Such study is important because it provid
es the necessary scaling laws, and the factors that affect the accurac
y of the scale models. In this study the limitation and acceptable int
erval of all parameters and corresponding scale factors are investigat
ed The formulation and the results deal with the case of buckling of c
ross-ply cylindrical shells under lateral pressure loads. Both complet
e and partial similarity are discussed This analytical study indicates
that distorted models with a different number of layers and geometrie
s than those of the prototype con predict behavior of the prototype wi
th good accuracy. However, it is shown that a scaled-down model with d
ifferent material properties than those of the prototype is incapable
of predicting the response of the prototype.