Response of a pre-stressed, orthotropic thick cylindrical shell subjected to a pressure pulse

Abstract This paper is concerned with the dynamic response of an axially stressed, orthotropic cylindrical shell subjected to a step pressure pulse at its interior wall. The solution is obtained on the basis of a thick shell theory in which the effects of shear deformation and of rotatory and longitudinal inertias are retained. The dynamic coefficient (= maximum dynamic hoop stress/static hoop stress) is calculated for several values of the thickness-to-length ratio and the radius-to-length ratio of shell and is shown graphically as a function of the axial stress parameter and the orthotropy coefficient of the shell (the ratio of the circumferential to the axial modulus of elasticity of the shell material). The numerical results are also compared with those from a thin shell theory. It is found that the dynamic coefficient increases as the orthotropy coefficient increases or the compressive axial force increases. It also increases as the thickness or the radius of the shell increases.