Buckling Strength of Tapered Cylindrical Shells under Partial Axial Compression: Effect of Circumferential Weld-Induced Imperfections

Buckling is often the main design consideration for thin cylindrical shells. For most load cases, the stability behavior of the shell is acutely sensitive to circumferential weld-induced imperfections, and the corresponding residual stresses are some beneficial to buckling strength of the shell generally. However, these conclusions are all based on the cylinders with constant wall thickness, and the studies about the effect of residual stresses on buckling strength of tapered cylindrical shells under partial axial compression are few. This paper applies trapezoidal strain field approach to simulate circumferential weld-induced imperfections on tapered cylindrical shellls, and studies the stability behavior of the cylinders with single circumferential weld and multiple circumferential welds under partial axial compression respectively. By comparing the results derived from the models with/without circumferential welds and corresponding residual stresses, the effects of weld depressions and residual stresses on tapered cylindrical shells under partial axial compression are obtained.