Local Flexibility of Cylindrical Shells and Pipes at the Support

Abstract

This article presents a parametric study for the determination of the flexibility and stiffness of a cylindrical shell at its support location. The parametric equation incorporates the geometric variables of both cylindrical shell and support; namely, the shell radius, thickness, and length, and the support width and embracing angle. A mathematical model has been devised to provide the theoretical data of flexibilities for establishing the parametric equation. The model is based on a contact stress formulation and uses a cylindrical shell theory. The validity and accuracy of the proposed parametric equation has been checked against available experimental results obtained from literature. There is close agreement between the two. The present study and results should be useful to designers who wish to determine the induced support force (or displacement) due to applied displacement (or force) at the support.