ENOC-2005, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 7-12 August 2005

DROP-SHOCK STABILITY OF A THIN SHALLOW ARCH;

CONSIDERING THE EFFECTS OF VARIATIONS IN SHAPE

Niels J. Mallon, Rob H.B. Fey, Kouchi Zhang and Henk Nijmeijer
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Eindhoven University of Technology
PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
N.J.Mallon@tue.nl, R.H.B.Fey@tue.nl, G.Q.Zhang@tue.nl, H.Nijmeijer@tue.nl

Abstract often thin-walled structures are subjected not only

Thin-walled structures can be sensitive to buckling:
that is loss of stability under loading. In order to derive
design guides for such structures under dynamic load-
ing, a group of thin shallow arches subjected to a half-
sine drop-shock pulse is examined. All arches have
the same principle dimensions such as width, height
and cross-sectional area but differ in shape. Using
numerical means and a multi-degree-of-freedom semi-
analytical model, both a quasi-static and a non-linear
transient dynamical analysis are performed. The in-
fluence of various parameters, such as pulse duration,
damping and, especially, the arch shape is illustrated.
Moreover, results are validated with finite element re-
sults. The main results are firstly that the critical drop-
shock level can be significantly increased by optimiz-
ing the arch shape and secondly, a small geometric im-
perfection decreases the critical drop shock level in a
much less fatal manner under dynamic loading as pre-
dicted from the quasi-static analysis.
to a static load but also to a distinct dynamic load,
such as drop/impact loading, step loading or periodic
loading. The resistance of structures liable to buckling,
to withstand time-dependent loading is often addressed
as the dynamic stability of these structures. The corre-
sponding failure mode is often addressed as dynamic
buckling. Generally, dynamic buckling is related
to a large increase in the response resulting from a
small increase in some load parameter (Budiansky and
Hutchinson, 1964). However, still no rigorous criterion
exist for identifying dynamic buckling. In the past,
many studies have been already performed concerning
the dynamic stability of thin-walled structures. Design
strategies for such structures under loading with a
distinct dynamic nature are, however, still lacking. The
research described in this paper is intended as a first
step in deriving such design strategies and deals with
thin shallow arches under drop-shock loading.

An early paper on dynamic buckling of shallow

Key words
Dynamic Stability, Buckling, Thin-Walled Structures.
1 Introduction
Thin-walled structures possess a favorable stiffness-
to-mass ratio and are encountered in a wide variety
of applications, such as aircraft fuselages, civil engi-
neering structures and in micro-electro-mechanical
systems (MEMS). If such a thin-walled structure is
initially curved and is loaded above some critical mag-
nitude, the structure may buckle so that its curvature
suddenly reverses. This behaviour, also known as
snap-through buckling, is often undesirable and may
lead to failure of the structure. Therefore, stability
of thin-walled structures can not be neglected during
the design of the structure. The analysis of structures
liable to buckling under static loading is a well
established topic in engineering science. However,
arches subjected to shock loading is (Hoff and
Bruce, 1954). In this paper, the dynamic stability
problem of the arch is investigated following an energy
based approach (Hsu, 1966; Simitses, 1990). With
one of the first numerical studies on dynamic buckling
of shallow arches (Lock, 1966), two mechanisms for
the initiation of dynamic snap-through buckling are
revealed. These mechanisms are referred to as direct
dynamic snap-through buckling, i.e. snapping occur-
ring on the initially induced oscillations, and finite
time dynamic snap-through buckling, i.e. snapping
occurring after many oscillations. Both mechanisms
have also been found experimentally for a spherical
shell under step-pressure load (Lock, 1968). Direct
snap-through buckling of a clamped shallow arch
under impulsive loading following from detonating
sheet explosives is reported in (Humphreys, 1966).
The effect of damping on dynamic buckling loads for
arches is addressed in (Lock, 1966; Hegemier and
Tzung, 1969; Johnson, 1980). All these studies reveal (a)
y, w w
that the presence of a little damping, as present in all
real-life structures, increases the dynamic buckling
loads significantly compared to the undamped case, w0 h
especially when the critical loads are not determined d L
by direct dynamic snap-through buckling. The effect
of various parameters on the dynamic stability of x, v
the arch under impulsive loading is examined in y(t) y (b) y(t)
(Hsu, 1967). Some of the considered parameters are
the amplitudes of higher harmonics in the arch shape.
However, the amplitudes of the higher harmonics are x
considered here as imperfections and thus only small
amplitudes are considered and positive side-effects
are not addressed. The effects of shape variation on Figure 1. Arch geometry (a), pinned-pinned arch with transversal
the static buckling of arches subjected to sinusoidal end-point motion (b).
distributed and constant distributed load are examined
in (Fung and Kaplan, 1952) and for arches subjected
to a concentrated point load at the center in (Fung and 2 Equations of Motion
Kaplan, 1952; Aubert and Rousselet, 1998; Bruns et In this section the equations of motion for the arch are
al., 2002). Moreover, the dynamic stability problem derived. The arch has a thickness d, an initial height h
of the arch shows a correspondence with the dynamic at the center and a width L. The initial (undeformed)
stability problem of buckled beams, see for example shape of the arch is indicated with w0 (x), the shape
(Noijen et al., 2005). after (elastic) deformation with w(x) and the axial dis-
placement with v(x), see figure 1-a. All geometrical
and material properties are considered to be constant
over the arch length and are fixed to the values as shown
in table 1. The internal normal force N and moment M
In this paper, a group of (very) flexible thin shallow
in the arch are defined by N = EAε and M = EIκ,
arches subjected to a short pulse-load in the form
where the kinematics are described by
of a drop-shock, is examined. All arches have the
same principle dimensions like width, height and 1

cross-sectional area. The main goal of the research ε = v′ + (w′ )2 − (w0′ )2
2 (1)
is to study the drop-shock stability of the arch for a
κ = − (w′′ − w0′′ ) ,
wide range of shapes, such that the influence of these
shape-variations on critical drop-shock loads can be
determined. Hereto, the arch-shape is parameterized in which the prime denotes differentiation with respect
with a single shape-factor, such that the arch-shape to x. The adopted kinematic model (1), often ad-
can be varied continuously. The considered shapes dressed as the curved beam model, is valid for slender
are, therefore, not restricted to specific shapes like a beams with small initial curvature and moderate dis-
sinusoidal or circular curve. In addition, a geometric placements and rotations and is beneficial for shape-
imperfection in the form of an asymmetry in the variation studies, since shape-variations can easily be
arch shape, is taken into account. The drop-shock incorporated in the initial shape function w0 . In or-
loading of the arch is modelled by a half-sine pulse in der to model the drop-shock loading via a prescribed
transversal acceleration. transversal motion, the arch is considered to be pinned-
pinned to a movable frame (see figure 1-b). The kine-
matic and natural boundary conditions for this load-
case read as
The outline for this paper is as follows. The next sec- v(0, t) = v(L, t) = 0
tion deals with the derivation of the equations of mo-
tion. In section 3, the quasi-static response to accelera- w(0, t) = w(L, t) = w0 (0, t). (2)
tion loading is discussed, and the influence of the arch M (0, t) = M (L, t) = 0
shape on these responses is illustrated. Furthermore,
results are compared with FEM results. Dynamic buck-
ling of the arch is discussed in section 4. The influence
The equations of motion are derived following the
of the arch-shape, small geometric imperfections, the
variation principle of Hamilton, i.e. minimizing the in-
level of damping and the shock-pulse duration on the
tegral
critical drop-shock magnitudes are examined and the
results are compared with the results from the quasi- Z t2
static analysis. Finally, in section 5 conclusions and (T − V + Wnc ) dt, (3)
recommendations are presented. t1
 Property Value Unit shape variation 1
imperfection
1

A 2.056 · 10−5 [m2 ] 0.8 0.5

e

w0 /h
a>0

[m]
0.6
0
EI 0.232 [Nm2 ] 0.4
a=0 −0.5
h 38.4 · 10−3 [m] 0.2
a<0
0 −1
0 0.5 1 0 0.5 1
L 0.8315 [m] x/L x/L
d 0.803 · 10−3 [m]
Figure 2. Shape variation and imperfection shape
ρ 7850 [kg/m2 ]
Table 1. Parameter values.
2.1 Initial shape
In order to be able to study the effect of shape-
variations, a family of initial shapes are examined in
with respect to the fields v and w. First the expres-
the analyses. All shapes of the family are symmetric
sions for the the potential energy V , the work done by
with respect to x = L/2, have a undeformed height of
non-conservative forces Wnc , and kinetic energy T are
w0 (L/2) = h and are identified with a single shape-
discussed. The potential energy of the arch takes the
variation parameter value a. Moreover, an imperfec-
form
tion in the form of a first harmonic asymmetry is in-
Z   corporated, scaled by the imperfection parameter e. In
L
1 1 order to trigger not only the first harmonic asymme-
V (v, w) = N ε + M κ dx. (4)
0 2 2 try sin(2πx/L), but a wide range of harmonic asym-
metries, a polynomial function is chosen to describe
the first harmonic asymmetrical shape. The complete
Structural viscous damping of the arch in the form of parametrization of the arch shape, including the (pre-
Fd = −bẇ, leads to the work expression scribed) transversal movement y(t) of the end-points
of the arch, reads as
Z L
 πx   
Wnc (w) = Fd wdx. (5) 3πx
0 w0 (x, t) = (h + a) sin + a sin
L L
| {z }
Neglecting rotary and in-plane (longitudinal) inertia initial shape
 
terms, the kinetic energy of the arch equals 36
+e √ x(x − L/2)(x − L) +y(t). (10)
L3 3
| {z }
Z L
1 imperfection shape
T (w) = ρA ẇ2 dx. (6)
2 0
The initial shape and imperfection shape are illustrated
in figure 2. The imperfection is considered to be very
Following Hamilton’s principle, the equations of mo-
small, i.e. e/d ≪ 1 with d the thickness of the arch.
tion for the arch can be derived to be

2.2 Discretization
N ′ = 0, (7a) With (8), all energy expressions only depend on the
ρAẅ + bẇ + M ′′ − (N w′ )′ = 0. (7b) shape of the deformed arch w and its derivatives. In or-
der to be able to approximate the static and dynamic be-
haviour of the arch according to the PDE (7), the field
Using the fact N ′ = 0 (see (7a)) and v(0) = v(l), the w is discretized as
potential energy V may be expressed in terms of w and
its spatial derivatives solely w(x, t) = w0 (x, t) + f (x, t), (11)

Z L   where f (x, t) is a finite series of sine functions with

N 2L 1
V (w) = + M κ + ρAgw dx, (8) time varying amplitudes
2EA 0 2
n
X  
iπx
where f (x, t) = Qi (t) sin , (12)
i=1
L
Z L
EA  ′ 2 
N= (w ) − (w0′ )2 dx. (9) satisfying the boundary conditions (2) a priori. The
2L 0 corresponding discrete set of equations of motion are
 120
determined by following a Rayleigh-Ritz procedure,
unstable
i.e. substituting (11) with (12) for f , into the energy 100
stable
and work expressions (4)-(6) and, subsequently, min-
80
imize (3) with respect to the generalized coordinates
snap-through
Q = [Q1 , Q2 , .., Qn ]T . In the sequel, a n-dof model 60

A [m/s2 ]
arch incorporates the first n harmonic modes, unless 60
40
stated otherwise. For illustration, the equations corre- 50

sponding to the 6-dof approximation are given 20 40 LP

30
0
20
M Q̈ + C Q̇ + K(Q) = −B ÿ(t), (13) 10
−20 (enlargement)
0
−0.02 0 0.02 0.04 0.06
where M = ρAL
2 I, C = b
2L I with I the identity ma- −40
−1 −0.75 −0.5 −0.25 0 0.25
2ρAL
 T Wmid
trix, B = π
1 0 31 0 1
5 0 and

  Figure 3. Initial load-path for 3-sym-dof model of arch (symmetri-

π2 4

2L N (Q)(a + √h + Q1 ) + EIπ 2L3 Q1 4 cal modes only) with e/d = 0 and a/h = 0.
 2 3 8EIπ 
 Lπ2N (Q)(18e 3 + π Q2 ) + L3 Q2 
 9π 81EIπ 4 
 N (Q)(Q 3 + a) + Q 3 
K(Q) =  2L √ 2L 3
128EIπ 4 , Imperfect
 2
N (Q)(9e 3 + 4π 3
Q 4 ) + Q4  60
Perfect 60
 Lπ 2 L3

 25π 625EIπ 4 
N (Q)Q 5 + Q 5
2L
6
√ 2L3
3

648EIπ4
πL N (Q) 2e 3 + 3π Q6 + Q6 50
LP 50
L3 e/d = 0.1
40 40 e/d = 0.5
where B
A [m/s2 ]

A [m/s2 ]
30 30
EAπ 2
N (Q) = [Q1 (2a + 2h + Q1 )...
4L2 20 20 e/d = 1
√
144 3
+18aQ3 + e(Q2 + 12 Q4 + 31 Q6 )...
π3 10 10

+4Q22 + 9Q23 + 16Q44 + 25Q25 + 36Q26 ].

0 0
−0.1 −0.05 0 0.05 −0.1 −0.05 0 0.05

With the adopted discretization (12), Q = 0 always
represents the (undeformed) initial shape. As¯ can be
noted, coupling of the individual modes is only attained
via the non-linear stiffness terms. Moreover, the asym-
metrical modes Q2 , Q4 , ... are not excited directly by
the loading and are only triggered if e/d 6= 0 (assum-
ing the initial condition equals Q = 0).
¯ load-paths may coincide, i.e. the initial load-path bi-
3 Static Buckling
For comparison with the dynamic analysis, buckling
of the arch under a time-invariant acceleration ÿ(t) =
A is investigated. For this analysis, the evolution of
static equilibrium points of (13), described by
K(Q) = −BA,
are studied for a quasi-statically varying load A.
The equilibrium path or ’load-path’ is computed
using a pseudo-arc-length continuation scheme
(Kuznetsov, 1995). Stability of the equilibrium states
is assessed by evaluating the eigenvalues of the local
linear stiffness matrix dK(Q)/dQ.
Static buckling corresponds to loss of stability of
an equilibrium state at some critical point. Gener-
ally, there are two types of buckling (Thompson and
Wmid Wmid
Figure 4. Initial load-path for 6-dof arch model with a/h = 0 for
e/d = 0 (left) and various e/d 6= 0 (right).
Hunt, 1973). Firstly, at a critical state two or more
furcates. This type of buckling is often addressed as bi-
furcation buckling and the corresponding buckling load
as bifurcation load. Secondly, if the slope of the initial
load-path varies, the load-path can lose stability at a
limit-point, i.e. the load-path reaches a maximum. This
type of buckling is addressed as limit-point buckling.
At a limit-point there is an absence of local equilib-
(14) rium states for load values greater than the limit-point
load. Consequently, under an incrementally increasing
load, the structure must jump to another (far) point on
the load-path, a phenomenon known as snap-through
buckling.
In order to plot a load-path for a multi-dof model such
as (13), some scalar measure for the deformation must
be chosen. Here, the following measure is adopted
w(L/2) − w0 (L/2)
Wmid = , (15)
δh
where δh is the vertical distance between the unloaded 60 e/d = 0
upward equilibrium position and the unloaded down-
ward equilibrium position measured at the mid-point 50
(δh = 2h for a/h = 0).
40

A [m/s2 ]
First, the quasi-static behaviour of a perfect arch
(e/d = 0) is examined. For this case it is known 30

e/d = 0.1
the asymmetrical modes Q2 , Q4 , ... are not triggered
20
(see section 2.2). Consequently, for the analysis of a
perfect arch, the asymmetrical modes are redundant stable
10
and may be removed from (13). The initial load-path unstable
for the perfect sinusoidal arch (a/h = 0, e/d = 0), FEM
0
−0.075 −0.05 −0.025 0 0.025
approximated using the first 3 symmetric modes Wmid
Q1 , Q3 and Q5 (3-sym-dof), is shown in figure
3. Clearly, the slope of the obtained load-path for
Figure 5. Comparison initial load-path FE model and 6-dof arch
quasi-static increasing load A varies and exhibits a
model with a/h = 0.
limit-point. If the load would be further increased at
the indicated limit-point (LP), the arch would have to
snap-through to a downward configuration to attain
equilibrium again. For the theoretical case where the
arch is purely symmetric, the limit-point load ALP in- 2-dof 3-dof 6-dof 12-dof
dicates the loss of stability of the upward configuration. 2
AB [m/s ] 35.323 35.219 35.219 35.219

In applications, however, the arch and its loading will
never be purely symmetric. The effect of such an asym-
metry, here chosen as an asymmetrical geometrical im-
perfection, can be studied by examining the quasi-static
response for an arch with e/d 6= 0. With e/d 6= 0,
also the asymmetrical modes are triggered (see section
2.2) and must be incorporated in the model (13). The
initial load-path of the arch with a/h = e/d = 0, us-
ing the first 6 modes (both symmetrical and asymmetri-
cal, 6-dof), is depicted in figure 4 (left). By comparing
this load-path with the initial load-path for the similar
case using 3 symmetrical modes (figure 3), it can be
noted that if that arch is allowed to deform asymmet-
rically, a bifurcation point (B) appears at a load which
is significantly lower than the earlier found limit-point
load. The secondary load-path which bifurcates from
the initial load-path at point (B), corresponds to first
harmonic asymmetric arch shapes. The importance of
this bifurcation point (B), becomes clear when arches
with an imperfection (e/d 6= 0) are considered, see
figure 4 (right). Clearly, the depicted load-paths for
e/d 6= 0 have a limit-point which tends for e/d → 0
to the earlier found bifurcation point (B) for e/d = 0.
For e/d = 0, however, no asymmetries are triggered
and the arch will still snap-through at the limit-point
load ALP . Consequently, the limit-point load ALP and
the bifurcation load AB as computed for the perfect
arch can be considered as the static buckling loads for
the (theoretical) case e/d = 0 and the (practical) case
0 < e/d ≪ 1, respectively.
For validation, the results for the semi-analytical
model with 6-dof are compared in figure 5 with FEM
results. Both the FE model for the perfect arch and for
the arch with the small imperfection consist of twenty
3-node Timoshenko beam elements known as element
ALP [m/s2 ] 2.3·104 58.913 58.908 58.907
Table 2. Bifurcation-point (AB ) and limit-point (ALP ) of an arch
with a/h = 0, e/d = 0 using 2-dof, 3-dof, 6-dof and 12-dof.
type 45 (MSC.Marc, 2003). In all FEM analyses kine-
matic relations are used which are valid for large dis-
placements and rotations. The influence of the retained
number of dof’s in the semi-analytical model on the
bifurcation load AB and the limit-point load ALP are
shown in table 2. The results for the semi-analytical
model do not change dramatically if more than 6 dofs
are used and show a good correspondence with the ac-
curate though numerically expensive FEM computa-
tions.
Since the arch will never be purely symmetric in prac-
tice, the bifurcation load AB dominates the static sta-
bility behaviour. Unfortunately, the bifurcation load
AB can hardly be influenced by varying the arch shape,
as illustrated in figure 6. The bifurcation load can be in-
creased by 6% (with respect to the arch with a/h = 0)
by setting the shape-factor to a/h = 0.097. The limit-
point load ALP shows a distinct maximum for a/h =
0.0384 at which the corresponding snap-through mode
switches between the w-shape and the m-shape. More-
over, the limit-point load is much more sensitive to the
arch-shape and can be increased by 40% by setting the
shape-factor to a/h = 0.0384. However, following the
results of the quasi-static analysis, this critical load has
less practical importance.
 90
(Simitses, 1990) and (Kounadis et al., 2004). This
ALP
AB lower bound is based on the consideration that the total
80
energy surface of the structure consists of multiple
wells, peaks, saddles and ridges. Each well corre-
70
sponds to a stable equilibrium state. Peaks and saddles
[m/s2 ]

correspond to unstable equilibrium states. Dynamic

60
buckling is related to the escape from the initial well
in the total energy surface. In order to make such an
50
escape possible, the imparted energy in the structure
by the shock-load must overcome a critical amount
40
to get over the ridge of the well at some point. The
lowest pass along a ridge between two wells is defined
30
−0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15
by a saddle. Therefore, the escape at a point very
a/h close to a saddle equilibrium point requires the least
amount of energy to be imparted by the shock-load.
Figure 6. Influence arch shape on AB and ALP for e/d = 0.
However, for multi-dof systems it is not trivial which
saddle equilibrium point defines the lowest pass from
the initial well. Furthermore, the established lower
4 Dynamic Buckling
bound for the dynamic buckling load by the energy
In this section dynamic buckling of the arch under
approach can be very conservative (Ovenshire and
drop-shock loading is examined. The half-sine pulse
McIvor, 1971; Johnson and McIvor, 1978).
in acceleration, characterized by the pulse duration Tp
and the maximum acceleration A, is used to model the
Since the energy approach is less feasible for multi-
loading during an actual drop-shock
dof discretized models of the arch and does not allow
(   the incorporation of the effect of damping in the analy-
A sin πt
if 0 ≤ t ≤ Tp sis, here numerical tools are pursued to analyze dy-
ÿ(t) = Tp . (16) namic buckling of the arch. The critical drop-shock
0 if t > Tp
loads are determined with the aid of the equations of
motion approach (Simitses, 1990). The equations of
After the arch is briefly forced by the shock-load pulse, motion are (numerically) solved for various values of
the arch is no longer subjected to external forces. Con- some load parameter. The load at which there exist
sequently, if the effect of the shock-load can be related a sudden jump in the response is called critical load
to certain initial conditions, the dynamic stability prob- (Budiansky and Hutchinson, 1964). In order to evalu-
lem may be approximated by an initial value problem. ate the response in time for the multi-dof model, some
Considering Q̇ (0) = 0, the velocities just after the scalar measure must be chosen. Here, the following
¯
shock-pulse can be determined by assuming that dur- measure is adopted
ing the (short) shock-loading no deformations occur,
i.e. Q (Tp ) = 0, by neglecting the effect of damp-
¯ fmid = max |Wmid (t)|,
W (19)
ing during the interval 0 ≤ t ≤ Tp and by using the 0≤t≤T
impulse-momentum theorem

Z with Wmid defined by (15). Also with the numerical

Tp
approach, the problem of the arch under drop-shock
Fdt = MQ̇ (Tp ) , (17)
0 loading can be studied as an autonomous initial value
problem with Q (Tp ) = 0 and Q̇ (Tp ) as defined by
¯
(18). This approach is beneficial, since it reduces
where F = B ÿ(t) is the column of forces and M the
the number of load-parameters from two (A, Tp ) to
mass-matrix. For the half sine shock pulse (16) this
one (λ). However, as stated before, it is based on
implies
the assumption that the energy of the shock-load is
imparted in the structure as kinetic energy only. Since
2 it is not trivial for which pulse durations (Tp ) this
Q̇ (Tp ) = M−1 B λ, (18)
π assumption is valid, in this paper the response of the
arch under drop-shock loading is simulated by solving
with only a single load parameter λ = ATp [m/s]. the non-autonomous set of ODEs (13) incorporating
Under the considered assumptions, the drop-shock is (16) with zero initial conditions. The parameter A
imparted instantaneously into the system as kinetic is selected as load parameter to be varied. However,
energy only. Relating this amount of kinetic energy to various (fixed) pulse durations Tp will be considered.
the level of potential energy at some unstable equilib- For the numerical integration of (13), an integration
rium point, a lower bound for the dynamic buckling routine based on an 8th order Runge-Kutta scheme
load can be derived, see for example (Hsu, 1966), with automatic step-size control is used. For all results
 1.1

mode shape 0.9 a/h = 0

f1,2 6-dof [Hz] 10.88 24.51 0.8
a/h = 0.04
a/h = 0.08
f1,2 FEM [Hz] 10.71 24.21 0.7

fmid
0.6

W
Table 3. First 2 linearized eigen-frequencies (f1,2 ) and modes for 0.5

arch with a/h = 0 and e/d = 0 for 6-dof and FE model. 0.4

0.3

0.2

b [Ns/m] 1 2 4 0.1
3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8

[Hz] ξ [-] ξ [-] ξ [-] ATp [m/s]

10.88 0.0453 0.0905 0.1810 Figure 7. Influence shape factor for Tp = 10 [ms], b = 2
24.51 0.0201 0.0402 0.0805 [Ns/m], e/d = 0.

Table 4. Damping ratios corresponding to the first 2 eigen- 1.1

frequencies for several values of b. b = 1 [Ns/m]
1
b = 2 [Ns/m]
0.9
b = 4 [Ns/m]
0.8
a relative tolerance of T OL = 1 · 10−8 is used.
However, to assure that the shock-pulse energy is 0.7
fmid

imparted correctly to the arch, the maximum step-size 0.6

W

while 0 ≤ t ≤ Tp is set to Tp /50. 0.5

0.4
According to (Johnson and McIvor, 1978), results for
0.3
direct dynamic snap-through buckling, i.e. snapping
0.2
occurring during the initial induced oscillations, are
not significantly altered if the time-span of integration 0.1
5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8

is extended from 0 ≤ t ≤ 3T1 to 0 ≤ t ≤ 5T1 , where ATp [m/s]

T1 is the period corresponding to the lowest linearized
vibrational eigen-mode f1 . Therefore, a time-span
of three periods of the lowest eigen-frequency is an
appropriate time-span to examine direct dynamic snap-
through buckling. For the arch under consideration,
the period corresponding to the lowest undamped
eigen-frequency for a/h = 0 and e/d = 0 appears to
be T1 ≈ 0.1 [s], see table 3. For the considered range
of the shape-factor a, the first eigen-frequency of the
arch stays nearly constant. Therefore, a time-span of
T = 3T1 ≈ 0.3 [s] is used in all computations, unless
stated otherwise. Note that the eigen-frequencies
are determined by linearizing (13) around the un-
loaded upward configuration (Q = 0). Moreover,
the eigen-frequencies of the semi-analytical model
are in good correspondence with FE results, see table 3.
In practice the arch will always exhibit some level of
damping. Therefore, in all analyses a small to moderate
amount of damping is taken into account. The damp-
ing ratios of the first two linearized vibrational eigen-
modes, corresponding to the eigen-modes depicted in
table 3, are shown in table 4.
First, results for an arch without an imperfection
(e/d = 0) are discussed. In figure 7, the influence
of the arch shape on the dynamic buckling load is il-
Figure 8. Influence damping for Tp = 10 [ms], e/d = 0,
a/h = 0.04.
lustrated for a fixed pulse duration of Tp = 10 [ms]
and b = 2 [Ns/m]. The dynamic buckling loads can
clearly be distinguished by the sudden jumps in the de-
picted graphs. Similar as was found for the quasi-static
buckling load of the arch without an imperfection (see
section 3), the shape of the arch also has a distinct influ-
ence on the dynamic buckling load for the perfect arch
(the dynamic buckling load for a/h = 0.04 is approxi-
mately 50% higher than the dynamic buckling load for
a/h = 0).
Before the solution may escape from the initial well,
energy will be dissipated due the presence of damp-
ing. To get over a ridge of the initial well, the en-
ergy dissipation caused by damping before the occur-
rence of escape must be accounted for. An increasing
amount of damping will, therefore, result in an increas-
ing dynamic buckling load as illustrated in figure 8 for
a/h = 0.04 and Tp = 10 [ms]. For the case with the
lowest level of damping (b = 1 [Ns/m]), the boundary
between the region where no dynamic buckling occurs
and the region where dynamic buckling does occurs, is
 1.2 9

1 8

0.8 7

ATp = 6.2703 [m/s]

ATp [m/s]
0.6
Wmid

ATp = 6.2763 [m/s] 6

ATp = 6.2823 [m/s]

0.4
5

0.2
4

Tp = 5 [ms]
0
3 Tp = 10 [ms]
−0.2
Tp = 20 [ms]
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 2
−0.1 −0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15
t[s] a/h

Figure 9. Load-parameter sensitivity of the occurrence of dynamic

Figure 11. Dynamic stability boundary for various pulse durations,
buckling for b = 1 [Ns/m], Tp = 10 [ms], e/d = 0, a/h = b = 2 [Ns/m] and e/d = 0.
0.04.

between the safe region and the unsafe region may be

compared with fractal boundaries as encountered in
the steady-state analysis of chaotic dynamical systems.
The complex transition between the safe region and
the unsafe region is, therefore, indicated as a fractal
ATp [m/s]

transition. It is noted that the fractal transition only

occurs close to the arch shape where a maximum in
dynamic buckling load appears and only for a low level
of damping (see also figure 8). Similar load-parameter
sensitivities in transient analyses of 1-dof models are
reported in (Thompson and Stewart, 2002; Soliman
and Gonçalves, 2003).

a/h The final considered parameter variation for the per-

Figure 10. Complex transition between dynamic buckling (black)
and no dynamic buckling (white) for Tp = 10 [ms], b = 1 [Ns/m],
e/d = 0.
not indicated by a single sudden jump in the response
measure, but by a small transition region. In this re-
gion the occurrence of dynamic buckling is extremely
sensitive to small variations in the load parameter as il-
lustrated in figure 9. Note that the integration time in
figure 9 is extended from T = 0.3 [s] to T = 0.5 [s]
and the sensitivity is thus not due to a too short integra-
tion time.
fect arch is the pulse duration Tp , see figure 11. Note
that the results are plotted against the product ATp = λ
(see (18)) allowing to examine the mutual relation be-
tween A and Tp with respect to the dynamic buckling
load. As can be noted, the stability boundaries for the
various pulse durations do not coincide perfectly and,
therefore, if the parameters A and Tp are varied inde-
pendently, the dynamic buckling load does not scale ex-
actly with the parameter λ as found for the case where
the dynamic stability problem is approximated by an
initial value problem. Still, the results for the vari-
ous pulse durations match qualitatively, that is for each
value of Tp the dynamic buckling load shows a compa-
rable sensitivity to variations in the arch shape.

The space spanned by the shape-factor a and the
load-parameter A for a certain fixed value for Tp , can
be divided into a safe region (no dynamic buckling)
and an unsafe region (dynamic buckling). The bound-
ary between these regions is defined as the dynamic
stability boundary. By examining the occurrence
of dynamic buckling at a dense grid of parameter
values in the space spanned by the shape-factor a and
the load-parameter A, it appears that this dynamic
stability boundary can have a very complex geometric
shape, see figure 10. The complexity of the boundary
By comparing the dynamic stability boundaries (see
figure 11) with the static stability boundary for the
perfect arch (ALP in figure 6), a clear correspondence
can be distinguished. However, in the quasi-static
analysis it is shown that for the more practical situation
where e/d 6= 0, snap-through of the arch will always
occur in an asymmetric shape at a significantly lower
load. The static buckling load corresponding to this
buckling mode could be increased much less by
varying the arch shape.
 1 9
e/d = 0 e/d = 0
0.9 8.5
e/d = 0.1 Tp = 5 [ms] e/d = 1
0.8 e/d = 0.5 8

e/d = 1
0.7 7.5

ATp [m/s]
Wmid

0.6 7

0.5 6.5

0.4 6

Tp = 20 [ms]
0.3 5.5

0.2 5
Tp = 10 [ms]

0.1 4.5
5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1

ATp [m/s] a/h

Figure 12. Influence imperfection for a/h = 0.04, b = 2 Figure 14. Imperfection sensitivity of dynamic stability boundary
[Ns/m], Tp = 10 [ms]. for b = 2 [Ns/m] and various values for Tp .

0.7
e/d = 0 buckling to small variations in the load-parameter.
0.6
e/d = 0.1 The distinct maximum in the dynamic buckling load
as found around a/h ≈ 0.05 seems insensitive to
0.5
the geometric imperfection. Similar smooth stability
0.4 boundaries, also with a maximum close to a/h ≈ 0.05,
are found at the lower level of damping b = 1 [Ns/m].
Wmid

0.3
(No dynamic buckling)

0.2 The dynamic stability boundaries show, therefore, a

0.1
0 6), even for the case e/d 6= 0. Consequently, for
−0.1
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
t [s]
Figure 13. Influence imperfection on vibrations for A
[m/s2 ], a/h = 0.04, b = 2 [Ns/m], Tp = 10 [ms].
In figure 12, the influence of a small imperfection
on the dynamic buckling load is illustrated. Com-
pared to the static buckling load (considering a quasi-
static varying acceleration A), the dynamic buckling
load (considering a short half-sine pulse in accelera-
tion) shows a much less fatal sensitivity to small geo-
metric imperfections. The dynamic buckling load is
only decreased less than 10% for the moderate value
of imperfection e/d = 1. The small geometric im-
perfection significantly increases the amplitudes of the
vibrations induced by the shock-pulse prior to the oc-
currence of dynamic buckling, see figure 13.
The imperfection sensitivity of the dynamic stability
boundaries, is illustrated in figure 14. For the depicted
range of the shape-factor a, the dynamic buckling load
decreases only with maximum 10% for the moderate
imperfection of e/d = 1. Furthermore, for a small geo-
metric imperfection, the dynamic stability boundaries
become smooth curves, indicating the disappearance
of the extreme sensitivity of the occurrence of dynamic
clear qualitative correspondence with the static stabil-
ity boundary as found for the perfect arch (see figure
the arch and load-case under consideration, arch shape
0.4 0.45 0.5 optimization based on maximizing the static buckling
load for the perfect arch would approximately result in
the same shape when optimizing the dynamic buckling
= 695 load for the practical case e/d 6= 0. This is beneficial
since, compared to the nonlinear transient dynamical
analyses, the quasi-static analyses are computationally
significantly less expensive.
5 Conclusions and Recommendations
The objective of this research was to study the effect
of the arch shape on the dynamic buckling load for
a thin shallow arch under drop-shock loading. The
drop-shock loading is modelled by a half sine pulse
in acceleration in transversal direction. Based on the
curved beam kinematic model, a discrete multi-dof
model of the arch is derived in which longitudinal
and rotary inertial effects are negelcted. The resulting
semi-analytical model enables variation of the arch
shape (the initial curvature) with a single shape-factor
and an imperfection parameter which controls the
amplitude of a small asymmetry in the arch shape.
By comparing quasi-static responses and modal
analysis results of this model with accurate finite
element modeling results, the accuracy of this model
is validated. First static snap-through buckling of
the arch under a quasi-static varying acceleration is
considered. It is shown that the arch shape signifi-
cantly influences the static buckling load for the case
where the arch does not contain an asymmetrical
imperfection. Unfortunately, a very small imperfection
causes the arch to buckle at a significantly lower load
via an asymmetrical buckling mode. The arch shape
has very little influence on the static buckling load
corresponding to this asymmetrical buckling mode.
The dynamic response of the arch under shock-
loading is studied by numerically solving the equa-
tions of motion. The dynamic buckling load is de-
termined for various levels of damping, shock pulse
durations, imperfection amplitudes and a wide range
of arch shapes. It is found that the dynamic buckling
load as determined for various pulse durations, scales
to some extend with the product of maximum acceler-
ation of the pulse times the pulse duration. Depending
on the level of damping, the imperfection amplitude,
and the arch shape, the occurrence of dynamic buck-
ling can be extremely sensitive to small variations in
the load parameter. The dynamic buckling load shows a
much smaller sensitivity with respect to small geomet-
ric imperfections as found for the static buckling load.
Moreover, the static buckling load for perfect arches
and the dynamic buckling load for both arches with and
without an imperfection, show a qualitatively sensitiv-
ity with respect to variations of the arch shape. There-
fore, for the arch and load-case under consideration,
the arch shape following by optimization of the sta-
tic buckling load for the perfect arch would also yield,
to some extent, an optimum of the dynamic buckling
load for the arch with and without a small imperfection.
This is beneficial since, compared to the nonlinear tran-
sient dynamical analyses, the quasi-static analyses are
computationally significantly less expensive. However,
more research is needed on different type of arches and
more complex shell structures to generalize this result.
Furthermore, the effect of the arch shape on the dy-
namic stability of the arch for other load-cases, such as
a harmonic or step loading, are of interest.
Acknowledgements
This research is supported by the Technology Foun-
dation STW, applied science division of NWO and the
technology programme of the Ministry of Economic
Affairs (STW project EWO.5792).
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