Experimental and theoretical study of elastoplastic buckling of cylindrical shells filled with bulk material under the action of a transverse force

The process of elastoplastic deformation, loss of stability and supercritical behavior of cantilevered thin-walled cylindrical shells of medium length loaded at the end face by transverse force, has been numerically and experimentally investigated. The defining system of equations has been formulated in the Lagrange variables in a three-dimensional dynamic formulation. The elastic-plastic deformation has been described by the relations of the theory of flow. Geometric nonlinearity (large deformations) has been taken into account by recalculating the geometry of the shell at each instant of time. The numerical solution of the problem is based on the finite element method and an explicit finite-difference time-integration scheme of the “cross” type. The effect of geometric parameters and loose filler on shell buckling has been studied. It has been shown numerically and experimentally that the bulk filler in the problem under consideration raises the value of the critical load, but its effect on the form of stability loss is insignificant.