Reinforcement design and buckling analysis of toroidal shell with openings

Abstract This paper focuses on the wall reinforcement design of toroidal shells with openings. Five 304 stainless steel test models were manufactured, and geometric measurements, three-dimensional scanning, and hydrostatic tests were carried out. The scanning models were established according to the measured geometrical imperfections. Linear buckling analysis (LBA), geometrically and materially nonlinear analysis (GMNA), and geometrically and materially nonlinear analysis with imperfections (GMNIA) were used for numerical simulations. The test results were in good agreement with the numerical analysis results, and an effective finite element method was obtained. Finally, 51 numerical simulations were established to study the influence of the size, number, and shape of openings on the buckling load performance of the toroidal shell with openings.