Mechanical stability of metal foam cylindrical shells with various porosity distributions

The paper deals with the nonlinear buckling analysis of imperfect cylindrical shells made of porous metal foam subjected to axial compression. For the metal foam shells, porosities are dispersed by uniform, symmetric, and asymmetric distributions in the thickness direction. Using Donnell shell theory and von-Karman nonlinear kinematics, nonlinear equilibrium equations are derived. The critical buckling load and buckling equilibrium curves for both perfect and imperfect shells are solved by using the Galerkin's procedure. A comprehensive investigation into the influence of porosity coefficient, imperfections, porosity distribution, and geometry on the buckling behaviors of the cylindrical shell is performed.