Buckling capacity of spherical shells with local thickness reduction under radial ring load

Hollow spheres have been widely used and recognized in aerospace, ocean engineering, and other fields. Radial ring load is common in practical engineering, such as the support ring of spherical tank and the spherical shell of welded hollow spherical joints (WHSJs). The influences of different corrosion positions, corrosion parameters, and geometric parameters on the buckling capacity of spherical shells under radial ring load are studied by the finite element (FE) model. A simplified method for calculating the buckling capacity of the WHSJs subjected to axial compression and the hemispherical shell with radial ring load is proposed. In addition, a formula of reduce factors about the position of the corrosion pit and corroded thickness is introduced for obtaining the buckling capacity. The results show that the proposed formula can be used to accurately predict the buckling bearing capacity, which lays the foundation of the theoretical analysis for the shells with local thickness reduction under radial ring load.