Nonlinear axisymmetric dynamic buckling of laminated angle-ply composite spherical caps

Here, the nonlinear axisymmetric dynamic behavior of clamped laminated angle-ply composite spherical caps under suddenly applied loads of infinite duration is studied. The formulation is based on first-order shear deformation theory and it includes the in-plane and rotary inertia effects. Geometric nonlinearity is introduced in the formulation using von Karman’s strain–displacement relations. The governing equations obtained are solved employing the Newmark’s integration technique coupled with a modified Newton–Raphson iteration scheme. The load corresponding to a sudden jump in the maximum average displacement in the time history of the shell structure is taken as the dynamic buckling pressure. The performance of the present model is validated against the available analytical/three-dimensional finite element solutions. The effect of shell geometrical parameter and ply angle on the axisymmetric dynamic buckling load of shallow spherical shells is brought out.