An experimental investigation into the buckling of GFRP stiffened shells under axial loading

The results of an experimental study on the buckling behavior of thin-walled GFRP cylindrical shells are presented. The specimens were fabricated from continuous glass fiber using a specially-designed filament winding machine. The buckling behaviors of unstiffened shells and stiffened shells with lozenge, triangular and hexagonal grids were then studied under quasi-static axial loading at room temperature. Due to the thin skin of the shells, all specimens first experienced a general buckling mode as well as barreling under the applied loading. Following this general buckling damage, local buckling mode was seen on all specimens. Based on the experimental results, the critical buckling load was higher for the shells with hexagonal and triangular grids while the unstiffened shells and stiffened shells with lozenge grids exhibited much lower critical buckling load. On the other hand, in very small skin thicknesses, when the specific buckling loads for all specimens were compared, the unstiffened shells showed the highest specific buckling load.