Imperfection sensitivity of degenerate hilltop branching points

Imperfection sensitivity is investigated for a degenerate hilltop branching point, where a degenerate bifurcation point exists at a limit point. A degenerate hilltop branching point is important as it is a byproduct of optimization of shallow shell structures under non-linear buckling constraints. A systematic procedure is presented for asymptotic sensitivity analysis based on enumeration of vertices of a convex region defined by linear inequality constraints on the orders of the variables. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by sensitivity analysis of degenerate hilltop branching points, considering minor and major imperfections, corresponding to an unstable-symmetric or asymmetric bifurcation point at the limit point. It is found that a hilltop branching point can be imperfection sensitive.