BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF ELASTICALLY CONSTRAINED STIFFENED CONICAL SHELLS UNDER HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE BY THE COLLOCATION METHOD.

It is shown that for a given short conical shell stiffened by ″strong″ stringers and rings, there exists a characteristic variation of the buckling load with the stiffness of the boundaries. This variation is similar to that of the unstiffened shell. The normal constraint has the largest influence on the buckling resistance, exceeding the circumferential constraint, and overshadowing the longitudinal constraint. The stringers become more effective as the boundary conditions become stronger. Refs.