Buckling of a Pressurized Hemispherical Shell Subjected to a Probing Force

We study the buckling of hemispherical elastic shells subjected to the combined effect of pressure loading and a probing force. We perform an experimental investigation using thin shells of nearly uniform thickness that are fabricated with a well-controlled geometric imperfection. By systematically...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: López Jiménez, Francisco, Hutchinson, John W., Marthelot, Joel, Lee, Anna, Reis, Pedro Miguel
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Format: Article
Published: ASME International 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117475
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8682-9535
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5658-774X
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3984-828X
Description
Summary:We study the buckling of hemispherical elastic shells subjected to the combined effect of pressure loading and a probing force. We perform an experimental investigation using thin shells of nearly uniform thickness that are fabricated with a well-controlled geometric imperfection. By systematically varying the indentation displacement and the geometry of the probe, we study the effect that the probe-induced deflections have on the buckling strength of our spherical shells. The experimental results are then compared to finite element simulations, as well as to recent theoretical predictions from the literature. Inspired by a nondestructive technique that was recently proposed to evaluate the stability of elastic shells, we characterize the nonlinear load-deflection mechanical response of the probe for different values of the pressure loading. We demonstrate that this nondestructive method is a successful local way to assess the stability of spherical shells.