INCREMENTAL STRESSES IN LOADED ORTHOTROPIC CIRCULAR MEMBRANE TUBES .2. NUMERICAL-SOLUTION

In Part I of this article (1995, Int. J. Solids Structures 32, 1907-19 25) a simplified theory for the incremental state of stress in an orth otropic circular membrane tube was presented. In this second part, a n umerical method is devised to solve the resulting elliptic sixth-order system of equations, for tubes which contain no slits or holes. In th is method, Fourier decomposition is used in the circumferential direct ion and finite element discretization is used in the longitudinal dire ction. Special finite elements with six degrees-of-freedom are employe d. Using this numerical method, the solutions of several specific prob lems of membrane tubes are obtained, presented and discussed. These in clude two problems concerning the decay of boundary disturbances. The theoretical treatment of such decay is also discussed.