On the buckling problem of a pressure vessel torispherical head due to internal pressure

The torispherical head of a circular cylindrical pressure vessel subjected to internal pressure can buckle if the head is very thin and the pressure is high enough. Previously, Aylward and Galletly analyzed this problem by the finite element method, considering the nonlinear prebuckling deformation. In this paper a numerical method is presented for buckling problems of the general axisymmetric shell, including consideration of its nonlinear behaviors in the prebuckling state. By using this method, the buckling problem of the torispherical head treated in Galletly's study is solved, and the results obtained by the present method are compared with Galletly's. It is found that the results coincide closely enough for practical purposes.