Previous experimental work, by one of the authors, examined the behavi
our of end supported cylindrical vessels loaded centrally. It was foun
d that the vessels failed by buckling when the radius to thickness rat
io (R/t) was greater than 150. These results provided the motivation f
or examining the buckling behaviour of such vessels when they are supp
orted, in a more conventional way, by using two saddles. In the cases
examined it was noted that the stresses that cause buckling behaviour
are the longitudinal and circumferential membrane stresses. These occu
r at four vessel locations, i.e. the zenith and nadir (top and bottom)
of both the vessel mid-span and the saddle centre profiles. Known buc
kling formulae based on simple loading patterns, such as an axially lo
aded cylinder and a cylinder under pure bending, will be utilized in d
etermining the allowable buckling stress. Present British Code rules a
nd European recommendations will also be discussed. The allowable buck
ling load will be compared with theoretical stresses obtained from a s
mall displacement linear elastic analysis, using a Fourier series meth
od. From these results a design method will be presented. (C) 1998 Els
evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.