Postbuckling Behavior of Shear-Deformable Anisotropic Laminated Cylindrical Panels under External Lateral Pressure

Abstract

A postbuckling analysis for a shear-deformable anisotropic laminated cylindrical panel of finite length is presented, subjected to external lateral pressure based on a boundary-layer theory of shell buckling. The material properties of each layer of the panel are assumed to be linearly elastic. The governing equations are based on a higher-order shear-deformation shell theory with a von Kármán–Donnell type of kinematic nonlinearity and including extension/twist, extension/flexural, and flexural/twist couplings. The nonlinear prebuckling deformations and initial geometric imperfections of the panel are both taken into account. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine the buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the postbuckling behavior of perfect and imperfect moderately thick, anisotropic laminated cylindrical panels under different values of panel parameters and stacking sequence. The new finding reveals that a circumferential stress exists along with an associate shear stress and twisting when the moderately thick anisotropic laminated cylindrical panel is subjected to external lateral pressure.