Buckling and postbuckling of cylindrical shells with one end pinned and the other end free

Using finite element analysis, this paper examines the linear bifurcation buckling loads, and nonlinear collapse loads, of cylindrical shells with one end pinned and the other end free, under a variety of axial and pressure load combinations. The pinned end is formulated so as to provide no axial restraint. For the bifurcation analysis, loads are related back to the classical solutions for cylinder buckling loads, to explain the very low values found for this set of boundary conditions.The nonlinear analysis includes both imperfections and material plasticity. In this analysis, it is found that cylindrical shells with pinned-free boundary conditions are notably imperfection insensitive, and for a range of geometries are able to reach collapse loads significantly greater than their bifurcation load. For other geometries, collapse loads very close to the bifurcation load are found. This unusual imperfection insensitivity for a cylindrical shell is explained in terms of the large flexibility engendered by the pinned-free boundary conditions and the oval buckling mode.