COMPARISON OF SHELL THEORIES IN THE ANALYSIS OF CYLINDRICAL-SHELLS WITH DISCONTINUITY IN THE THICKNESS

Cylindrical shells with discontinuity in the thickness and that are su bjected to axisymmetric loading have been analysed. Two types of finit e elements are used: the first is based on thin shell theory and the s econd on thick shell theory. The loadings considered are a uniform int ernal pressure and a circular ring load at the mid-section. The effect of these loads for various end conditions and various step-ratios in the thickness have been analysed. Numerical results are presented and compared for both the theories. It has been shown that the transverse normal stress acting along the thickness direction is not negligible c ompared to other stresses at places of discontinuity either in the thi ckness or in the loading. The weight of the shell is kept constant for various step-ratios.