Parametric studies on the dynamic buckling phenomenon of a composite cylindrical shell under impulsive axial compression

The dynamic instability of a thin-walled carbon-fibre reinforced composite cylindrical shell is studied. The analysis is performed with the Finite Element code, ABAQUS, estimating the dynamic buckling load using the Budiansky–Roth criterion. The influence of the following factors on the dynamic behaviour of the shell is analysed: the shape of pulse loading, the initial geometric imperfection and the pulse duration. It is found that for short load duration, the structure resistance to pulse loading in the form of dynamic buckling load is significantly higher compared to the static buckling load. As load duration increases, the magnitude of the Dynamic Load Factor (DLF), defined as the ratio between the dynamic and static buckling loads, decreases significantly, reaching a value of DLF<1 in the vicinity of the natural frequency of the shell. The results of the numerical analyses indicate a slight increase of the DLF with the increase of the initial geometric imperfection of the shell. The present study highlights the increased sensitivity to the shape of the pulse loading. For triangular and double-triangular pulse shapes, for short load duration, the dynamic buckling load is almost 14 times higher than the static buckling load. Simultaneously, when a trapezoidal pulse shape is applied, the dynamic buckling load is four times greater than the static one.