BIFURCATION BUCKLING OF CIRCULAR CYLINDRICAL-SHELLS SUBJECTED TO AXIAL-COMPRESSION DURING CREEP DEFORMATION

In the present work, analytical and experimental investigations were p erformed on creep buckling. Special attention was focussed on bifurcat ion behavior during creep deformation. The finite element method was u sed to analyze creep buckling of circular cylindrical shells without i nitial imperfection. The number of circumferential waves obtained from the analyses agrees well with those of the experiments. The present e xperimental investigation shows that the circumferential waves are sud denly caused near a bulge. It is also found that there is no correlati on between the wavelength of the circumferential waves observed at cre ep buckling and that of the circumferential initial imperfection. Defo rmation patterns at the bifurcation creep buckling obtained from the a nalyses are analogous to those of the experiments. It is concluded fro m the analyses and the experiments that the circumferential waves obse rved in creep buckling experiments are due to bifurcation buckling dur ing creep deformation.