This paper reports the results of an investigation on the use of Generalized Beam Theory (GBT) to assess the buckling behavior of circular cylindrical steel shells (pipes and pressure vessels) subject to uniform external pressure. Initially, a novel formulation based on GBT is derived, which (ⅰ) incorporates all the effects stemming from the presence of longitudinal and/or hoop stresses (the latter are stresses acting in the circumferential direction), and (ⅱ) taking into account the destabilizing effects associated with the follower nature of the external pressure (it remains normal to the shell wall before and after deformation). Then, after the above formulation is numerically implemented by means of GBT-based beam finite elements method, results concerning the buckling behavior of tubes and pressure vessels under external pressure are presented and discussed, in order to illustrate the application and capabilities of the proposed GBT-based approach. For validation purposes, most GBT results are compared with values either available in the literature or yielded by Ansys shell finite element analyses.
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