A theoretical derivation is given for elastic and plastic buckling of stiffened, circular cylindrical shells under uniform external hydrostatic pressures. The theory accounts for variable shell stresses, as influenced by the circular stiffeners, and critical buckling pressures are obtained for simple support conditions at the shell-frame junctures. Collapse pressures for both elastic and plastic buckling are determined by iteration and numerical minimization. The theory is applicable to shells made either of strain-hardening or elastic-perfectly plastic materials. Using the developed analysis, it is shown that a variation in stiffener size can change the buckling pressures. Test data from high-strength steel and aluminum cylinders show agreement between the theoretical and experimental collapse pressures to within approximately six percent.
Plastic Deformation Behavior of Metal for Complex Loading Paths