Buckling of Externally Pressurized Toroidal Shell With Stiffened Ribs

Abstract

The buckling characteristics of toroidal shells with closed circular cross sections loaded with a static external pressure were investigated. Eight toroidal shell test models were developed: two ribless, two semicircular discrete ribs, two rectangular discrete ribs, and two rectangular continuous ribs. The geometry, toroidal shell thickness, buckling load, and failure of each model were measured and compared. The effects of different ribbing methods (discrete, continuous unidirectional single-wire, continuous unidirectional multiwire wound, and continuous bidirectional wound ribs) on the buckling behavior of a ribbed toroidal shell were investigated, and the results provide guidance for practical engineering.