ASYMMETRIC ELASTIC BUCKLING OF AXIALLY COMPRESSED CONICAL SHELLS WITHVARIOUS END CONDITIONS

Two different solutions to the problem of simply supported conical she lls under axial compression suggested by previous investigators are ex tensively compared and the problems associated with each type of solut ion are identified. In terms of buckling load, both solutions are in g ood agreement but significant differences are clearly shown in bucklin g mode comparisons. It is also shown that in certain cases;different m odes correspond to the same value of critical load. On the basis of th e numerical performance of each solution, a displacement function is s elected and the study is extended to investigate mode effects in cones with clamped boundary conditions. The numerical difficulties encounte red in simply supported cones are reduced in this case. Clamping alter s the shape of the buckling mode not only in the vicinity of the bound aries, as may be expected, but also in the center of the cone.