Composite cylindrical shells under combined loading

Abstract

The structural design of a cylindrical shell made of a unidirectional glass/epoxy fiber composite and subjected to torsional moment and internal pressure is studied. An anisotropic model for analysis of composite material is applied. The minimum wall thickness of the shell, with the use of the Tsai-Hill failure criterion, is derived. In this connection, the strain energy density criterion (SED) is applied, by which the critical crack length is determined. In this paper, we illustrate the fracture methodology towards the design of a cylindrical shell structure for determining safe operation. Finite element analysis and analytical method were also established.