Ultimate strength characteristics of unstiffened cylindrical shell in axial compression

Cylindrical shell is a common structural design solution in many engineering fields, such as the foundation supporting structures and buoyant column of offshore wind turbine maritime sector. Operating an ocean environment, these cylindrical need to withstand combination axial compression, bending moment, torsion external pressure. This study contributes parametric investigation for unstiffened shells subjected compression. Emphasis placed on ultimate strength characteristics their relation with initial geometric imperfection. The nonlinear finite element method adopted by considering material nonlinearities conjunction arc-length incrementation solve governing equilibrium equation. numerical prediction compared prevailing code-based approach, i.e. DNV, ABS, API Eurocode. shows that compression highly sensitive formulae appear be overly conservative predicting compressive shells.