Parametric instability of thick, orthotropic, circular cylindrical shells (Q1094912)

The dynamic instability of simply supported, finite-length, circular cylindrical shells subjected to parametric excitation by axial loading, is investigated analytically. The shell is taken to be orthotropic, due to closely spaced longitudinal and/or circumferential stiffeners or to many layers of fiber-reinforced composite material either oriented at angles of \(0\circ\) and 90\(\circ\) (cross-ply) or at \(+\theta\) and - \(\theta\) (angle-ply) with respect to the shell axis. The theory used is a general first-order shear deformable shell theory; it can be considered to be the thick-shell version of the popular Sanders-Koiter thin-shell theory. By means of tracers, this theory can be reduced to thick-shell versions of the theories of Love (and Loo) and of Donnell (and Morley). Quantitative results are presented to show the effects of shell geometry, materials, and fiber orientation on the stability boundaries.