On the imperfection sensitivity of complete spherical shells

• DOI: 10.1007/bf00282045
• Publication Date: 2004-09-18T22:51:42Z
• Authors: M. Drmota; R. Scheidl; H. Troger; E. Weinm�ller
• Keywords: Spherical shell

The imperfection sensitivity of elastic complete spherical shells under external pressure is studied for axisymmetric deformations and qualitatively different types of imperfections by means of a numerical analysis of the Reissner shell equations. It is shown that strong reductions of the critical load are obtained for small deviations of the middle surface of the shell from the perfect spherical configuration whereas imperfections of the shell thickness do not have a substantial influence on the critical load.