Shell buckling research at Delft, 1976 - 1992

The dilemma of the stability analysis of axially compressed cylindrical shells is well known. Trying to explain the discrepancy between the theoretical predictions based on the linearized small deflection theory and the experimental results has occupied some of the most eminent scientists of this century. The central goal of the shell research being carried out at the Aerospace Engineering Faculty of the TU-Delft is the development of an 'Improved Shell Design Criteria', which incorporates all the theoretical knowledge accumulated in the last, say, 25 years through intensive research in the Aerospace, the Nuclear, and the Offshore fields and which makes efficient use of the currently available interactive and (super) computing facilities.