Stress Analysis of Submerged Cylindrical Structures by Elasticity and Shell Theories

A thick-walled circular cylinder, made of either isotropic or composite material, is analyzed using closed-form solutions to two different theories. The cylinder is submerged, so that the loading includes gravity body forces, external hydrostatic pressure at the outer boundary, and a physically realistic distribution of counterbuoyancy force at the inner boundary. The elasticity theory is formulated as one in plane strain using the Airy stress function. The shell theory used is a refined thick shell theory formulated in terms of generalized displacements.