An evaluation method for elastic-plastic buckling of cylindrical shells under shear forces Original Research Article

Since vessels of fast breeder reactors are relatively thin-walled, the prevention of buckling against seismic loading is one of the key issues in their structural design. Buckling of cylindrical vessels under shear forces occurs with a shear and/or bending mode and in the elastic-plastic region. In this paper, we propose a buckling strength equation for cylindrical vessels under static shear loads, which is developed on the basis of theoretical considerations for plasticity and shape imperfections. The effects caused by nonlinear distribution of stresses along the circumference in the elastic-plastic region are also considered as correction factors. The equation is validated by the existing and the present buckling test data, as well as FEM analyses. The safety factors to be employed in the design are proposed by evaluating the reliability of the proposed equation in the light of available test data.