A Weak Form Implementation of Nonlinear Axisymmetric Shell Equations With Examples

We present a weak form implementation of the nonlinear axisymmetric shell equations. This implementation is suitable to study the nonlinear deformations of axisymmetric shells, with the capability of considering a general mid-surface shape, non-homogeneous (axisymmetric) mechanical properties and thickness variations. Moreover, given that the weak balance equations are arrived to naturally, any external load that can be expressed in terms of an energy potential can, therefore, be easily included and modeled. We validate our approach with existing results from the literature, in a variety of settings, including buckling of imperfect spherical shells, indentation of spherical and ellipsoidal shells, and geometry-induced rigidity (GIR) of pressurized ellipsoidal shells. Whereas the fundamental basis of our approach is classic and well established, from a methodological view point, we hope that this brief note will be of both technical and pedagogical value to the growing and dynamic community that is revisiting these canonical but still challenging class of problems in shell mechanics.