Investigation of stability behavior of clamped functionally graded cylindrical shells in elastic medium under lateral pressure

In this study, the stability analysis of cylindrical shells made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) in an elastic medium under the external pressure is carried out within the framework of Donnell type shell theory. First, the fundamental relations of FGM cylindrical shells are established. Then, the fundamental equations of FGM cylindrical shells on the Pasternak elastic foundation are derived based on Kirchhoff-Love theory (KLT). The fundamental equations are solved with the Galerkin procedure and analytical expression is obtained for critical lateral external pressure of FGM cylindrical shells on the Pasternak elastic foundation under clamped boundary conditions. Finally, numerical analyses are carried out considering different volume fractions of FGMs, elastic foundation coefficients and geometric characteristics of the shell.