BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF LAMINATED CYLINDRICAL-SHELLS WITH ARBITRARY NONCIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION

Buckling analysis of laminated cylindrical shells with noncircular cro ss section of arbitrary closed shape is presented. The equations, in t erms of the normal displacement and Airy stress function, of the Donne ll type, are derived via the Hu-Washizu mixed formulation. The curvatu re, which is a function of the circumferential coordinate, is expanded in Fourier series. The circumferential dependence is eliminated by a combination of Fourier expansion and Galerkin's method. The resulting ordinary differential equations are then reduced to matrix equations b y the use of finite differences. The configurational aspect is investi gated parametrically. Unlike the circular cylindrical shells, coupling of the wave number in the circumferential direction is significantly high.