Buckling of axially loaded shell structures made of stainless steel

Stainless steels are commonly employed in engineering applications since they have superior properties such as low maintenance cost, and high temperature and corrosion resistance. These features allow them to be preferred in cylindrical shell structures as well. The behavior of a cylindrical shell structure made of stainless steel can be quite different from that made of carbon steel, as the material properties differ from each other. This paper deals with buckling behavior of axially loaded cylindrical shells made of stainless-steel. For this purpose, a combined experimental and numerical study was carried out. The experimental study comprised of testing of 18 cylindrical specimens. Following the experimental study, a numerical study was first conducted to validate test results. The comparisons show that finite element models provide good agreement with test results. Then, a numerical parametric study consisting of 450 models was performed to develop more generalized design recommendations for axially compressed cylindrical shell structures made of stainless steel. A simple formula was proposed for the practical design purposes. In other words, buckling strength curve equation is developed for three different fabrication quality.