Influence of internal liquid on buckling of circular cylindrical shells partially submerged in a liquid

Theoretical analysis has been presented for the effect of internal liquid pressure on the buckling of circular cylindrical shells subjected to external liquid pressure. The shell is assumed to stand vertically with the lower end clamped, and the upper end clamped or free. In the analysis, the Donnell equation was used for the basic equation, and the prebuckling deformation of the shell was taken into account. The Galerkin method was used, and the critical pressures at various internal liquid heights as well as the buckling wave numbers, were obtained for a wide range of the geometrical parameters Z a given shell. The effect of internal liquid on the buckling mode was also clarified. To confirm the validity of the analysis, experimental studies were also conducted by using test cylinders made of polyester film and water. Theoretical and experimental results were in good agreement.