Buckling prognosis for thin elastic shallow shells.

This article addresses several problems that are related to the elastic stability of thin shells and that are due to inconsistencies between the experimental data and predictions based on the equations of the shallow-shell theory. The above contradictions are solved within the three-dimensional nonlinear theory of elasticity. In particular, the dynamic approach enables a prediction of the moment of bifurcation for very thin shells under momentless stress through the analysis of asymptotically built two-dimensional equations. Appearance and development of the dents and patterns in initially ideal shells that precede the buckling are also explained in this article. The dents represent solitonic waves that are detectible by acoustic devices. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of failure of thin shells by using acoustic devices to monitor their conditions. The article covers two types of experiments with thin shells when the loads are close to buckling. These experiments enable to assess the safety buckling factor under technical operation of shells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]