An analytical approach for radial-pressure buckling responses of helically corrugated FG-GRMMC cylindrical shells with temperature effects

Abstract

This study presents an analytical formulation for the nonlinear buckling and postbuckling behavior of helically corrugated cylindrical shells made of functionally graded graphene-reinforced metal matrix composites (FG-GRMMC) under external pressure in a thermal environment. The governing equations are established based on the Donnell shell theory incorporating von Kármán geometric nonlinearity. An equivalent-shell homogenization approach is developed to represent the helical corrugation, in which temperature-dependent material properties and effective thermal force resultants are consistently incorporated. The resulting nonlinear equilibrium system is solved using the Ritz energy method with a three-term assumed deflection function. Closed-form expressions for the critical buckling loads and postbuckling response are obtained. Numerical results are presented to examine the influences of graphene distribution patterns, corrugation geometry, and temperature variation on the stability characteristics of the shells. The results demonstrate that helical corrugation significantly enhances the global stability, while increasing temperature reduces the load-carrying capacity.