Snap-through buckling of single-layer squarely-reticulated shallow spherical shells continuously supported on springs

An asymptotic solution for snap-through buckling of single-layer squarely-reticulated shallow spherical shells continuously supported on springs is developed in this paper. Based on the fundamental governing equations and boundary conditions, a nondimensional analytical expression associated with the external load, stiffness of spring and central transverse displacement (deflection) is derived with the aid of asymptotic iteration method. The effects of stiffness of spring and characteristic geometrical parameter on buckling of the structures are given by the analyses of numerical examples. In a special case, for reticulated circular plates, the influence of stiffness of spring on the characteristic relation between load and deflection is also demonstrated.