The influence of the testing machine on the buckling of cylindrical shells under axial compression.

Abstract A series of experiments has been carried out on electroformed cylindrical shells under axial compression to determine the effect of the stiffness of the testing machine on the buckling load. The effect of the testing machine has also been calculated using Tsien's criteria. It is shown that the calculated energy loads have a strong dependence on the testing machine while the experimental data are virtually independent of the testing machine stiffness.