Effects of structural openings on the buckling strength of cylindrical shells

Computational models, which follow numerical assessment strategies codified by current European rules for shell buckling, were developed so as to study the buckling and post-buckling response of a large set of cylindrical steel thin-shell prototypes with structural openings. Behavioural changes as a consequence of variations in the cutout configuration, that is, shape, size, location and number, were predicted and the obtained numerical estimates were related to the test data of previous experiments in order to explore critical design aspects. Damage modes and axial force–axial displacement response curves were presented and discussed, decoupling the roles played by material nonlinearity and geometrical nonlinearity, as well as the contribution of initial geometrical imperfections to the buckling mechanism of axially compressed cylindrical thin shells.