BUCKLING OF MODERATELY THICK COMPOSITE CYLINDRICAL-SHELLS UNDER DESTABILIZING LOADS

The instability of perfect, laminated, circular cylindrical shells wit h fixed ends under the action of uniform axial compression, lateral pr essure, and torsion is investigated. The analysis is based on nonlinea r kinematic relations where the effect of transverse shear deformation is taken into account. Three theories (higher order shear deformation theory, first-order shear deformation theory, and classical) are comp ared to determine their range or applicability in predicting critical conditions for moderately thick cylindrical shells under the action of various loads. Also, the effects of stacking sequence, radius-to-thic kness ratio, and length-to-radius ratio are assessed. The results obta ined indicate that the first-order shear deformation theory with a pro per shear correction factor is a good candidate for the analysis of mo derately thick laminated cylindrical shells.