Buckling of a pressurized toroidal ring under uniform external loading

Abstract

A theoretical investigation of the buckling of a pressurized toroidal ring under a uniformly distributed line load is carried out, with finite shear stiffness, extensional stiffness, and appropriate contributions from the internal pressure taken into account.The equations governing both in-plane and out-of -plane buckling behavior of the ring, with direction of loading included, are derived and solved.The solutions to the buckling equations are presented in t e r m s of five general parameters which a r e functions of the internal pressure, external load, and ring geometry.The major results of the investigation are: (a) The magnitude of the buckling load is very sensitive to the direction of loading during the buckling deformation and to the ratio of cross-sectional radius to the radius of the ring; (b) the shear stiffness of the ring wall material and internal pressure both contribute to the effective transverse shear stiffness of the ring, which strongly influences the buckling loads.