A finite-volume approach to the stress analysis of pressurized axisymmetric structures

A finite-volume procedure for determining the displacement fields and elastic stress distributions within structures that have axisymmetric geometries is presented. The production of a system of linear algebraic equations from the equilibrium equations of the cells that are used to represent the structure is described in detail. An iterative technique is employed to solve these equations and provide the displacement field from which the strain and stress fields can be found. The procedure is used to model two axisymmetric test problems and the stress distribution predicted by the formulation using cell meshes of increasing refinement is compared to analytical solutions and the variations predicted by various finite element procedures.