Combined load buckling for cylindrical shells based on a symplectic elasticity approach

Buckling behavior of cylindrical shells subjected to combined pressure, torsion and axial compression is presented by employing a symplectic method. Both symmetric and non-symmetric boundary conditions are considered. Hamiltonian canonical equations are established by introducing four pairs of dual variables. Then, solution of fundamental equations is converted into a symplectic eigenvalue problem. It is concluded that the influence of pressure on buckling solutions is more significant than that due to compressive load, in particular for a longer external pressured cylindrical shell. Besides, buckling loads and circumferential wavenumbers can be reduced greatly by relaxed in-plane axial constraints.