Elastic postbuckling response of axially-loaded cylindrical shells with seeded geometric imperfection design

• Cylindrical shells with seeded geometric imperfections (SGI) designs are proposed.
• Elastic postbuckling in cylindrical shells can be tailored by seeded imperfections.
• Uniform and SGI cylinders were made via 3D printing and tested in compression.
• SGI cylindrical shells are less sensitive to imperfections and load variation.
• Seeded geometry allows tailoring the time and location of buckling events.

Elastic instabilities (such as buckling) have been recognized as a promising phenomenon to design smart materials and mechanical systems. Thin-walled cylindrical shells under axial compression can attain multiple bifurcation points in their postbuckling regime due to the natural transverse deformation restraint provided by their geometry; but harnessing such behavior for smart purposes is lacking extensive study due to its notoriously high imperfection sensitivity. In this paper, the concept of seeded geometric imperfection (SGI) design is proposed to modify and control the elastic postbuckling behavior of cylindrical shells. Eigenvalue-based mode shapes were used as basic geometric forms to generate a seeded imperfection. Prototyped SGI cylindrical shells were fabricated through 3D printing and tested under loading–unloading cycles. Numerical and experimental results suggest that the SGI cylindrical shells are less sensitive to initial imperfections and load variation than uniform ones. Cylindrical shells with seeded geometry can be potentially used in the design of smart devices and mechanical systems such as energy harvesters and self-powered sensors.