Bending Strength of a Large Thin-Walled Pressure-Stabilized Cylinder Beyond Onset of Compressive Skin Wrinkling

The ultimate bending moment capability of a thin-walled pressure-stabilized cylinder with typical axial loads has been demonstrated to be at least 50% greater than the bending moment at which compressive wrinkling first occurs. The test article used to demonstrate this experimentally consisted of a 120 in. Atlas booster tank, filled with water and pressurized to 24 psig. A method to predict the approximate ultimate bending moment is given.