INSTABILITY OF A CYLINDRICAL-SHELL UNDER 3-POINT BENDING

The instability of a cylindrical shell under three-point bending is co nsidered. The problem has application to the industrial pipe ram bendi ng process. The loading is idealized as a set of pads of uniform radia l pressure in the regions of die-shell contact. A theoretical solution for the smallest buckling load is developed, using the Donnell and Sa nders linearized stability equations. A finite element solution is als o presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of results from the two methods. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.