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J.G. Teng and J.M. Rotter

(Simitses et al. 1985), and eccentricities of the applied load relative to the middle surface of the shell at the boundary are usually eliminated both in tests and in practice by appropriate detailing. However, where the local value of the applied load is subject to variation around the circumference, a very marked effect can ensue (Calladine 1983a). Studies of this problem are not common (Kndel and Schulz 1988, 1992; Holst and Rotter 2001), but considerable effort is commonly expended to ensure that both test cylinders (e.g. Berry et al. 2000) and full-scale shells are uniformly supported. Further relevant information on this question can be found in Chapters 3 and 4. Geometric imperfections and co-existent residual stresses The single most important factor contributing to the discrepancy between theory and experiment for axially compressed isotropic cylinders is now widely accepted to be initial imperfections in the shell geometry. An enormous amount of research has therefore been carried out on the imperfection sensitivity of shell buckling in different congurations. The most notable contributors to this research include von Karman and Tsien (1941), Koiter (1945), Donnell and Wan (1950), Budiansky and Hutchinson (1966) and Yamaki (1984). The latter gives a very thorough description of the buckling behaviour of cylinders with many different imperfection forms and amplitudes under different types of uniform load. Very few studies have explored the effects of residual stresses in shells on the buckling strength, even though these are usually present where geometric imperfections exist, and can be quite large. Recent studies have begun to explore the mechanics of the development of residual stresses (Guggenberger 1996a; Holst et al. 1999), and a few studies have explored their effect on buckling strength (Bornscheuer et al. 1983; Rotter 1988, 1996b; Ravn-Jensen and Tvergaard 1990; Guggenberger 1996a; Holst et al. 1996a, 2000; Hbner et al. 2003). In general, it seems that residual stresses can account for some of the discrepancies between experimental and theoretical calculations, but they do not have a systematically deleterious effect, as they do in columns and beams. Finally, thickness variations may cause signicant imperfections in some thin shells. These were rst studied by Koiter et al. (1994), and their effect on external pressure buckling has recently been comprehensively solved (Jullien et al. 1999). Axially compressed stringer-stiffened cylinders Although geometric imperfections are responsible for discrepancies between simple buckling theory and experiment in most shells, when stringer stiffeners are present this effect is less pronounced (Brush 1968). The imperfection sensitivity of stringer-stiffened cylinders depends on the geometry of the stiffeners, particularly the area ratio As /bt , where As is the cross-sectional area of a stringer, b is the circumferential separation of stringers and t is the thickness of the shell skin (Arbocz and Sechler 1976; Weller and Singer 1977). The boundary conditions