Mechanism of buckling development and strain reversal occurrence in elastic–plastic cylindrical shells under axial impact

In order to clarify the mechanism of loading and unloading, buckling growth, and strain-reversal occurrence in elastic–plastic cylindrical shells that are impacted axially, non-linear dynamic equations in incremental form are derived and solved by using the finite difference method. The validity of the developed theory is verified by comparing theoretical and experimental results. From the calculation results, it is found that, at the initial stage of the impact process, the effective stress related to the middle-surface stresses in the part near the impacted end rises with time, and exhibits plastic loading. The radial restraints on the impacted end have obvious influence on the strain reversal occurrence at an early stage of the impact process. The effective modulus controls the post-buckling deformation of the shell, which contrasts with the situation for the bar to be impacted axially.