Buckling design of stringer-stiffened conical shells in compression

The buckling strength of conical shells subjected to axial compression may be increased by means of meridional stiffeners (stringers). Unlike stiffene d cylinders, only limited research has been carried out and no design provi sions exist for stringer-stiffened cones. In this paper, a design procedure for such cones is developed based on an equivalent cylinder approach. Desi gn criteria for both local (shell panel) and global (stiffened panel) buckl ing modes are proposed. In the absence of experimental results, a numerical parametric study is then presented to assess the design proposal. By using finite-element models, linear and nonlinear analyses are performed to quan tify critical design aspects and to calibrate buckling strength predictions derived from the design proposal.