Twin-characteristic-parameters analysis for elastic dynamic buckling of thin cylindrical shells under axial step loading

The relations of the critical stress and transverse inertia effect to the loading duration are investigated for the dynamic buckling of thin cylindrical shells under axial step loading. The critical stress and the inertial exponent are treated as the two characteristic parameters. The criterion of energy conservation is used to derive the supplementary restraint condition for buckling deformations at compression wave front. By use of the Galerkin method, an algebraic eigenvalue problem for the two characteristic parameters is derived from the governing equations and boundary conditions. The solution of the eigenvalue problem, which satisfies the supplementary restraint condition, gives the values of the critical stress and the inertial exponent for the dynamic buckling. The relation of critical stress to loading duration, predicted by the theoretical analysis, is in reasonable agreement with the experimental results.