Stability of hollow shells of linearly variable thickness under thermal loads

Abstract

The paper investigates the thermo-mechanical behavior and stability of flat smooth steel shells of constant and linearly variable thickness, rigidly clamped along the con-tour. Under uniform heating, the shells undergo nonlinear deformation, which alters their stiffness and stress state and influences their subsequent stability under pressure loading. The study analyzes how thickness variation affects the upper critical load at different heating intensities, showing linear growth for variable-thickness shells and parabolic behavior for constant-thickness shells. The results demonstrate the higher efficiency and load-bearing capacity of shells with linearly variable thickness com-pared to those of constant thickness when temperature effects are taken into account.