Load Capacity of Tethered Floating Membrane Cylinder

Abstract

The nonlinear problem of an inflated, partially-floating membrane cylinder with a bottom load is studied by perturbation and numerical integration. The solutions can be classified into stages as the load is increased. Stage I does not collapse anywhere. Stage II is still floating, partially collapses at the bottom, and shows semisimilarity. Stage III is completely immersed with partial collapse and shows full similarity. There exists a maximum load for Stage I. Stages II and III are unstable to constant load but can be realized by an anchored tether.