Reliability of Axially Compressed Cylindrical Shells With General Nonsymmetric Imperfections

This paper deals with the effect of general, nonsymmetric random imperfections on the reliability of axially compressed cylindrical shells. Reliability is defined here as the probability of the structure not buckling below some fixed load. The paper is a sequel to an earlier study on cylindrical shells with axisymmetric imperfections. The problem is solved by the Monte Carlo Method. The initial imperfection functions are simulated via a numerical procedure, and the buckling load of each realization of the simulated initial imperfections is found by the Multimode Analysis. It is shown that the results of existing Initial Imperfection Data Banks can be directly incorporated in the reliability analysis. Experimental information and the data derived from it, rather than theoretical assumptions, is used for constructing the reliability-based design curves for shell structures.