Ponding on circular membranes

Nonlinear circular membrane responses under partial and full ponding loads have been solved by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical integration and by finite element simulation with good accuracy. Under partial ponding loads, a discontinuity exists in the curvature of the deformed membrane at the fluid boundary while an inflection point forms inside the ponding. An iterative finite element algorithm has also been developed for solving membrane ponding problems where inelastic material response becomes significant. The finite element simulation procedure was proven to be accurate when validated against test data from membrane forming experiments. fo 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.