Abstract
This paper describes the fabrication techniques, testing procedures and experimental results for eight 16-in.-diam rigid-vinyl plastic monocoque domes subjected to external-pressure loads. The domes tested were spherical, elliptical and torispherical, and all had fixed-edge support. They were fabricated in such a manner that wall-thickness tolerances and residual stresses could be minimized. In the test setup, a backup or support block was used to prevent complete collapse or yielding. The support allowed a complete buckle pattern to form, and the resulting pattern was always characteristic of a particular dome shape.
These tests on domes withr/t values ranging from 240 to 600 produced remarkably consistent and high critical buckling coefficients (C) which exceeded 80 percent of the classical value (0.60). The results further indicateC to be independent ofr/t as well as the half-opening angle (θ) of the dome shell over the range of values investigated.
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Adam, H.P., King, P.A. Experimental investigation of the stability of monocoque domes subjected to external pressure. Experimental Mechanics 5, 313–320 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02327532
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02327532