On the static buckling of an externally pressurized finite circular cylindrical shell

The static buckling behaviour of an imperfect finite cylindrical shell, stressed by either a lateral or hydrostatic pressure, is here investigated by assuming that the imperfection can be regarded as the first term in the Fourier sine series expansion .The buckling modes are assumed to be in the shape of the imperfection which is in turn given in the shape of the classical buckling mode .Regular perturbation technique in asymptotic expansions of the relevant parameters is used and a simple expression for determining the static buckling load of the structure is determined. It is observed that , this procedure, perhaps more than other ones ,can be used to analyze relatively more complicated problems particularly where more demands and restrictions are placed on the imperfection parameter. The result is strictly asymptotic. JONAMP Vol. 11 2007: pp. 323-332