ON THE CONTACT PROBLEMS OF INFLATED CYLINDRICAL MEMBRANES WITH A LIFE RAFT AS AN EXAMPLE

The class of contact problems involving inflated cylindrical membranes is studied. It is shown that the governing equations can be reduced to quadrature provided that the contact stress is normal to the membrane. As an example, the problem of a loaded life raft is analyzed in detail. It is found that the load on the life raft is at maximum when the life raft is just completely submerged in the water. Moreover, for loads less than the maximum load, there exist two equilibrium states, one floating and one submerged. The floating state, however, is the state of least energy. (Author)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at the Applied Mechanics Conference of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Pennsylvania University, Philadelphia, 23-25 June 1970, Paper 71-APM-11: Also published in Journal of Applied Mechanics, p615-622, September 1971.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Illinois, Chicago

  Department of Materials Engineering
  Chicago, IL  United States  60680
• Authors:
  • Wu, Chin H
• Publication Date: 1970-5-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 10 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cylindrical bodies; Floating structures; Life rafts; Structural analysis
• Uncontrolled Terms: Floating bodies
• Old TRIS Terms: Membrane skin materials
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Marine Transportation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00028955
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: AROD-9332:3-E
• Contract Numbers: DA-ARO-D-31-124-G10
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 10 1973 12:00AM