Abstract
The buckling problems of cross-ply laminated cylindrical shells under lateral and hydrostatic pressure loading are solved based on Flugge equations and the simplified method. The effects of the number of layers and the modulus ratio on the buckling pressure are investigated. The effects of coupling between bending and extension for antisymmetric laminates and the cross-ply ratio for symmetric laminates increase with increasing modulus ratio. The accuracy of the simplified method derived, assuming no coupling, is investigated by comparing its results with those of the Flugge equations. In the case of no coupling between bending and extension, the accuracy of the simplified method depends on both the dimension of shells and the modulus ratio. The reduced stiffness is demonstrated to be effective for approximately introducing the effect of coupling in the simplified method.
