Loss of stability of unreinforced conical shells

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to suggest an approximate analytical method that could allow inexpensive and fast computational control of stability of unreinforced conical shells with lower edge angle αc=5°÷15°. Standard methods of stability calculation according to European Recommendation ECCS [1] or ČSN EN 1993-1-6 [2] are not applicable due to the geometry and boundary condition of the examined shells. Approximate method is based on the results of a set of numerical analyzes of load carrying capacity of examined structures. Numerical analyses are performed by FEM computer program COSMOS/M [3].