Stability of hinged spherical cap subjected to external pressure

Abstract

The thin-walled spherical cap loaded by an external pressure generally performs a nonlinear behavior. This phenomenon is not as significant in case of the hinged cap with restricted movements in the radial direction. The linear analysis of the critical load shows that stability of the cylindrical cap is practically identical to stability of the cylindrical shell. In addition, the non-linear analysis further leads to the conclusion that the ratio between critical pressure and limit pressure might be expressed by formula pCR/pLE=1.6. Based on these facts, the limit elastic pressure pLE of an ideal cap can be derived from a critical external pressure pCRA of the spherical shell pLEpCR/1.6pCRA/1.6. Conversion of pLE to the limit pressure of a real spherical cap in elastic-plastic area pu might be performed by means of the procedure provided by ECCS [3]. The influence of initial imperfections on stability of the spherical cap is a subject of further research.