Dynamic Buckling and Postbuckling of A Composite Shell

A computationally effective method for evaluating the dynamic buckling and postbuckling of thin composite shells is described. It is a judicious combination of available computer codes for finite element, composite mechanics and incremental structural analysis. The solution method is an incrementally updated Lagrangian. It is illustrated by applying it to a thin composite cylindrical shell subjected to dynamic loads. Buckling loads are evaluated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. A universal plot is obtained for the specific shell that can be used to approximate buckling loads for different dynamic loading rates. Results from this plot show that the faster the rate, the higher the buckling load and the shorter the time. They also show that the updated solution can be carried out in the postbuckling regime until the shell collapses completely. Comparisons with published literature indicate reasonable agreement.