Response of thin-walled cylinders to aerodynamic excitation

Non-linear vibrations of thin-walled shells under aerodynamic excitation are investigated using Flugge's thin-shell theory, modified to include the effects of large deformations. The theory is applicable to any type of boundary conditions and various types of normal loading. The formulation includes mean or initial deformations of the median surface. A probabilistic-deterministic analysis of fatigue, representative of wind effects on earth-borne structures, is proposed based on the derived stresses and the Palmgren–Miner rule. Extensions of the non-linear theory to include structural damping and to analyse single mode. static collapse of thin shells are also outlined. In the random vibration analysis; based on energy methods, the multi-mode random response of thin shells under wind loading are studied. A fixed-free shell configuration is investigated in detail, though the formulation is applicable to any type of boundary conditions. [Continues.]