Dynamic Buckling of Shallow Spherical Shells

The dynamic behavior of clamped shallow spherical shells subjected to axisymmetric and nearly axisymmetric step-pressure loads is examined using a digital computer program for the geometrically nonlinear static and dynamic analysis of arbitrarily loaded shells of revolution. A criterion for dynamic buckling under the nearly axisymmetric load is proposed and critical buckling pressures are determined for a large range of shell sizes.