INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 11, No. 6, pp.

909-913

DECEMBER 2010 / 909

DOI: 10.1007/s12541-010-0110-4

Buckling Analysis of Filament-Wound Thick

Composite Cylinder under Hydrostatic
Pressure
Myung-Hun Kim1, Jong-Rae Cho2,#, Won-Byong Bae1, Jin-Hwe Kweon3, Jin-Ho Choi3,
Sang-Rae Cho4 and Yun-Sik Cho5
1 Department of Precision Engineering, Pusan University, San 30, Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, South Korea, 609-735
2 School of Mechanical & Information Engineering, Korea Maritime University, 1, Dongsam-dong, Yeongdo-gu, Busan, South Korea, 606-791
3 School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Gajwa-dong, Jinju, South Korea, 660-701
4 School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Ulsan University, Mugeo-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan, South Korea, 680-749
5 6th R&D Institute, Agency for Defense Development ,18, Jinhae P.O.Box, Jinhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, 645-600
# Corresponding Author / E-mail: cjr@hhu.ac.kr, TEL: +82-51-410-4298, FAX: +82-51-405-4790
KEYWORDS: Buckling, Filament-wound, Composite shell, FEM(Finite Element Method)

Underwater vehicles that operate in deep waters require a pressure hull to maintain the sufficient strength and
stiffness against external hydrostatic pressure. We investigated the validity of the finite element method (FEM) that
is applied to a buckling analysis of the filament-wound composite cylinder, subjected to an external hydrostatic
pressure. Two methods were suggested for the buckling analysis of a filament-wound thick composite cylinder
under hydrostatic pressure: using the equivalent properties of the composite, and using stacking sequence. The
hydrostatic pressure test was conducted to verify the FEA. Test results were compared with the previous results
obtained by FEM on the buckling of a filament-wound composite cylinder under hydrostatic pressure. FEM
analysis results were in good agreement with the test results. The difference between FEM results and the test
results was approximately 1~5%.
Manuscript received: March 17, 2010 / Accepted: August 1, 2010

NOMENCLATURE
E1,E2,E2 = Elastic Modulus
G12,G23,G13 = Shear Modulus
v12 ,v23, v13 = Poissons ratio

1. Introduction
Underwater vehicles, that operate in deep water, are subjected
to high external hydrostatic pressure. In general, the pressure hull of
an underwater vehicle has a stiffened cylindrical shell structure, and
the spherical or elliptic shells are attached to both ends. Shell is the
structure often found in vessels, submarines, aircrafts, and buildings.
Accordingly, there have been many studies on the analysis of shell
structures, and the variety of shell theories has been suggested. In
particular, when the shell undergoes a pressure load, the buckling
KSPE and Springer 2010

can take place at a stress which is far lower than the material
strength. Therefore, the compressive buckling strength of a shell
should be taken into consideration.1,2
The performance of a structure can be improved if its weight is
be reduced by using the low-density material such as a composite,
compared to high strength steel, titanium alloy, and aluminum alloy.
Experiments on composite buckling are limited by equipments and
costs, and thus the finite element analysis (FEA) method is used to
simulate the testing.3 The FEA results for isotropic materials, such
as metals, are in good agreement with experimental results.
However, the FEA results for composite materials, that are
anisotropic, can show a relatively large difference with
experimental results. Accordingly, it is necessary to identify the
problems with the FEA results and bridge the gaps by optimizing
the finite element models.
The majority of studies on conventional composites focus on
composites made by prepreg method.4,5 There are many studies on
the bucking and postbucking of cylindrical shell, which are

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 11, No. 6

Table 2 Various types of stacking cases based on the stacking angle and thickness

Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Case 4
Case 5
Case 6
Case 7

Thickness of
[-30], [+30], mm
3.30, 3.30
1.65, 1.65
0.83, 0.83
0.41, 0.41
0.21, 0.21

No. of
Layers
1, 1
2, 2
4, 4
8, 8
16, 16

Thickness of
[30], mm
6.6
-

No. of
Layers
1
-

subjected to axial compression or external pressure.6,7 Some studies

were regarding stress and strain in composites that are
manufactured by using the filament winding technique.8 However,
only a few studies have been performed on the buckling of a
filament-wound cylinder under hydrostatic pressure.
We conducted the finite element buckling analysis of a
filament-wound thick composite cylinder under hydrostatic pressure.
In the FEA, the effective properties which considered the winding
angle, were used to input the composite material properties. In
addition, just as comparative thick composite buckling analysis was
performed, solid elements and shell elements were used to compare
and examine effects of the elements on buckling pressure.
Furthermore, the hydrostatic pressure test was conducted and its
results were compared to the FEA results in order to verify the
proposed FEA technique.

2. Finite Element Buckling Analysis

Thickness of
[90], mm
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.4

2.2 Material properties

Composite carbon fiber T700 was used to manufacture a
cylinder, and its material properties are shown in Table 1.
For the properties of [30/90] from Case 1 and [30] from Case
2, the effective properties were obtained by using the MSC Patran
(Version 2005, MSC.Software Corporation, USA). The results are

Thickness of
[30/90], mm
8.0
-

No. of
Layers
1
-

Table 1 Material properties of T700 composite

Properties
Elastic modulus (GPa)
Shear modulus (GPa)
Poissons ratio

Direction

Values

Fiber

120.7

Matrix

8.5

In-plane

3.4

Transverse

2.7

In-plane

0.253

Transverse

0.421

Table 3 Effective material properties of T700 [30/90], and [30]

Material
Elastic modulus (GPa)

Shear modulus (GPa)

2.1 Assumptions
Material properties of the composite may be determined by
experiment.9 However, the composite made from the filament
winding has a mesh structure with fiber and matrix, and it is
difficult to model all meshes to perform a finite element analysis.
Accordingly, the following assumptions were made before
performing the finite element buckling analysis. In order to define
material properties, the effective properties of stacking ply were
introduced. The effective properties of stacking ply, which were
obtained based on the classical laminate theory, were assumed as
the composite of a single ply. In addition, the following
assumptions were used for the analysis:10 macroscopically, each ply
is homogeneous, linear-elastic, and orthotropic. There was no initial
stress and each fiber was homogeneous, linear-elastic, as well as
well arranged in the space. The matrix is homogeneous, linearelastic, and isotropic. There were no vacancies, and the fiber and
matrix are fully combined.

No. of
Layers
1
1
1
1
1
1

Poissons ratio

[30/90]

[30]

Ez

49.9

37.9

Et

28.0

8.3

Er

9.9

9.3

Gzt

20.7

24.4

Gtr

2.9

2.85

Gzr

3.1

3.18

vzt

0.570

1.47

vtr

0.278

0.29

vzr

0.157

-0.22

* z, t, r: Axial, hoop and radial direction of cylinder

Table 4 Element type for FE analysis
Element Type

Remarks

Shell181

4 Node Finite Strain Shell

Solsh190

3D 8 Node Layered Solid Shell

shown in Table 3.
The cross stacking was made for [-30] and [+30] of Case 3 to
Case 7, and the stacking for [90] was made in the outside.

2.3 Effects of finite element types

The commercial code ANSYS 11 (ANSYS, Inc., USA) was
used for the finite element buckling analysis. Since the buckling
analysis was conducted on a relatively thick composite cylinder, it
was necessary to compare the analyzed results with different
elements. The ANSYS shell element Shell181 and the solid element
Solsh190 were selected to compare the effects of finite element
types. The details are shown in Table 4.

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DECEMBER 2010 / 911

Fig. 2 Design of experimental composite cylinder

Fig. 1 Boundary conditions of composite cylinder model

2.4 Boundary conditions

The flange was assumed as a fixed support and the cap in the
opposite side was allowed to move in the axial direction. Thereby,
the applied boundary conditions in analysis were similar to the
actual tests. A unit load of 1 MPa was given for the linear buckling
analysis. Fig. 1 shows the boundary conditions applied to the model.

Fig. 3 A composite cylinder specimen

2.5 Nonlinear buckling analysis

Linear buckling analysis was performed to indentify the
buckling type needed for the nonlinear buckling analysis; and thus
the buckling type was predicted. However, the buckling cannot be
predicted precisely with the linear buckling analysis. The
manufactured pressure hull has initial imperfections such as
deviation from the intended form, or the residual stresses due to
manufacturing. Furthermore, when the high compressive load
works on a pressure hull during the operation of an underwater
vehicle, geometrical nonlinearity or hull material nonlinearity can
occur. Therefore, the nonlinear buckling analysis is necessary in
addition to the linear buckling analysis. In this study, the initial
imperfection method was used. By doing so, we obtained the loaddisplacement relations and the maximum value that the load can
reach. The nonlinear analysis method, that is used to obtain the
load-displacement relations, included the load incremental method,
the displacement incremental method, and the Riks method.9 To
consider the post-buckling behavior, we adopted the Riks method to
find the unloading path. The initial imperfection was assumed to be
the first mode via analysis of proper values.

3. Experiments
3.1 Manufacture of the composite cylinder
The thick composite cylinder, which was designed to endure
high hydrostatic pressure in deep water, was manufactured by a
company that specializes in the composite pressure vessels. The
shell (radius=150 mm, length=695 mm, thickness=8 mm) was made
by the filament winding as shown in Fig. 2.
Carbon fiber T700 was used in the cylinder. The winding of
82.5% was made at an angle of 30, and the final winding of
17.5% was made at an angle of 90 in the direction that is
perpendicular to the length of the cylinder. Fig. 3 shows the test

Fig. 4 Set-up for hydrostatic pressure buckling test

model of the manufactured composite cylinder. A steel flange was
installed on the left side of the composite cylinder. For the
hydrostatic pressure test, a steel cap was installed on the right side
of the cylinder. To prevent water leakage during the experiments, all
cylinders were coated with the waterproof urethane, while
following the installation of a flange and a cover.

3.2 Test set-up

Fig. 4 shows the pressure vessel that is used in the experiments.
The pressure tank can apply the pressure up to 15 MPa. The
diameter and length of the experimental model were 600 mm and
1200 mm, respectively. A pump with the maximum pressurization
of 5 MPa was attached to the lower end of the pressure vessel, and
the compressive load was applied to a cylinder by directly moving
the lever up and down. The flange of a cylinder was joined to the
lid of the pressure hull by using bolts, and strain gauges were
installed in the circumferential and axial directions of the cylinder.
In addition, the measuring device of axial displacement was
installed on the cap of cylinder.

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Table 5 Linear buckling pressure according to the stacking method

Case
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Test

Buckling Pressure [MPa]

Shell
Solid
5.98
5.86
4.33
4.35
3.62
3.80
4.17
4.22
4.29
4.32
4.33
4.35
4.33
4.35
4.3

Error compared to the test (%)

Shell
Solid
39.1
36.3
0.7
1.2
15.8
11.6
3.0
1.9
0.2
0.5
0.7
1.2
0.7
1.2
-

Fig. 6 Specimen after failure due to buckling

Table 6 The linear and nonlinear buckling pressure according to the
stacking method
Element
type
Shell
Solid
Shell
Solid
Shell
Solid
-

Case 1
Case 2
Case 4
Test

Buckling pressure (MPa)

Linear
Non-linear
5.98
6.00
5.86
5.86
4.33
4.33
4.35
4.24
4.58
4.15
4.22
4.10
4.3

Error (%)
Linear Non-linear
39.1
39.5
36.3
36.3
0.7
0.7
1.2
1.4
6.5
3.5
1.9
4.7
-

Fig. 5 Buckling mode of the cylinder

3.3 Experiment method

In order to measure strains of the axial and circumferential
directions in the mid-point of a cylinder, two strain gauges were
installed in each one of the angles of 0, 90, 180, and 270,
respectively. The pressure was increased from 0.1 MPa to 0.3 MPa,
and the values, that are from the axial displacement measuring
device and the strain gauges, were recorded. To confirm the
cylinder behavior that follows the onset of buckling, the pressure
was applied to the level that is higher than the buckling pressure.

4. Results and discussion

4.1 Results of linear buckling analysis
Linear buckling analysis was performed according to the
various stacking types as shown in Table 2. Table 5 shows the linear
buckling pressure depending on the elements. Fig. 5 shows the first
buckling mode and Fig. 6 shows the picture of a specimen after the
failure due to buckling.
Overall, there was a little difference in linear buckling pressure
depending on two types of elements, which are solid and shell
element. There two types were in relatively good agreement. In
Case 1, the buckling pressures of the two types of elements show
the relatively large differences of 39.1% and 36.3%, respectively,
when compared with the experimental values.
In Case 2, which used the two separated stackings, it was in

Buckling pressure (MPa)

case1 (shell)
case1 (solid)
case2 (shell)
case2 (solid)
case4 (shell)
case4 (solid)
Experiment

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

Displacement (mm)

Fig. 7 Pressure-strain curves obtained by experiment

relatively good agreement with the experimental values. This is
because, unlike Case 1, the [90] layer wound in the circumferential
direction and the [30] layer in the helical direction were divided
from each other and were treated with the stacking properties.
Therefore, more precise properties were applied.
Cases 3 to 7 show that as the number of repeated stackings of [30] and [+30] (to which only the stacking properties were applied)
were increased, the values were more likely to converge on constant
values of 4.33 and 4.35 MPa, and these were in relatively good
agreement with actual experimental values. In addition, the
buckling pressure values of Case 2, which used only the effective
properties, were almost in agreement with the values of Cases 6 and
7, which used the same effective properties but only with the
increased number of stacking.

4.2 Results of nonlinear buckling analysis

Table 6 indicates the nonlinear buckling pressures of Case 1, 2
and 4. Fig. 7 shows the buckling pressure-displacement.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 11, No. 6

DECEMBER 2010 / 913

REFERENCES
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4.3 Hydrostatic pressure experiment results and discussion

The experiment was repeated four times, and the buckling
pressure values were 4.3, 4.4, 4.4 and 4.1 MPa. The average
buckling pressure value was 4.3 MPa. During the pressurization
following the maximum pressure value, the pressure in a tank
decreased and the strain rate of a cylinder increased. Fig. 8 shows
the typical pressure-strain lines obtained in the experiments. The
following graph shows that buckling took place when the pressure
reached 4.1MPa, and then there occurred the post-buckling
behavior in which the displacement increased with the decrease in
pressure.

5. Conclusion
We developed the finite element technique to analyze the
buckling of a thick composite cylinder, manufactured by a filament
winding. The following conclusions were drawn based on the
comparison of the FEA and hydrostatic pressure experiment results.
(1) The FEA analysis results of using the two types of elements,
that is solid and shell, are quite similar.
(2) For the finite element modeling, which is to predict the
buckling pressure of filament-wound thick composite cylinder, the
effective property and separate stacking method were proposed.
When only the effective properties were used in the finite element
buckling analysis, the result showed an error of about 40% from the
actual hydrostatic experimental value. However, the method that
used both effective properties and separated stacking showed only
about 1-5% of an error from the experimental value.
(3) When predicting the buckling pressure of a filament-wound
thick composite cylinder, more precise results were obtained by
using the method, which applied stacking by separating the helical
winding layer and the hoop winding layer.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
This work was supported by the Underwater Vehicle Research
Center (UVRC) of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration
(DAPA).

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