Deflection and buckling behavior of thin, circular cylindrical shells under wind loads

Some wind-tunnel tests have been conducted on the buckling behavior of closed-ended, thin cylindrical shells such as silos. Detailed measurements of the prebuckling deflections as well as of the buckling pressures were made with a variety of elastic cylinders in both smooth and turbulent flows. The results indicate that the prebuckling deflection is extremely sensitive to the wind pressure distribution, while the buckling pressure is less sensitive to it. It was also found that the pressure-deflection relationship exhibits a marked nonlinearity as the wind pressure approaches the buckling pressure. The experimental results were compared with the results of a stability analysis based on Donnell's theory, and a relatively good agreement was derived with respect to the buckling pressure. Furthermore, on the basis of the experimental results, an empirical formula for the buckling pressure was proposed as function of the height/radius ratio and the radius/ thickness ratio of the cylindrical shell.