The efficiency of ring stiffener shape on the deformation of cylindrical shell structures – numerical analysis with solid finite element

Abstract

Shell structures are essential components in many industries, including aerospace, automotive, and civil engineering, due to their lightweight properties and ability to resist diverse loads. With the increasing construction of large-scale buildings, the strategic and economic significance of these structures has risen sharply. However, under certain loading conditions, shell structures may be subject to significant deformations, compromising their structural integrity. Therefore, incorporating stiffeners, such as ring stiffeners, has become a popular design technique to make shell structures more rigid and capable of holding more weight while reducing large deformations. Recent advances in finite element analysis have enabled comprehensive studies of stiffened shells. This study focuses on modeling and analyzing the stiffened shell using a three-dimensional finite element (solid element) for both the shell and stiffeners in ABAQUS software. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of various stiffener geometries and thicknesses on the deformation of cylindrical shells under concentrated loading and different boundary conditions. The study examines stiffener configurations, such as rectangular, I, Tee, and channel shapes, to assess their impact on reducing displacements and enhancing performance. The results show that three-dimensional finite elements are very efficient in modeling stiffened shell structures, and ring stiffeners are also very useful in reducing the shell’s deflections. This study provides insights into optimizing stiffened shell designs to increase their structural integrity and resistance to deformation.