The Buckling of a Thermo-Stressed Toroidal Shell Under External Pressure

The effect of elevated and cryogenic temperatures on the non-linear axisymmetric strain processes of the closed toroidal shell clamped at the outer equator under uniform external pressure is numerically investigated. Geometric and material non-linearities are taken into account, as well as the dependence of the mechanical and thermophysical properties of material on temperature, in ratios of the problem. The study was performed numerically using a combination of Newton’s (linearization) and orthogonal sweep methods. For the steel shell under consideration, it has been shown that at elevated and low temperatures, the axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric bifurcation loads, as well as ultimate loads, are lower than the corresponding critical loads at room temperature.