Nondestructive Buckling Load Prediction of Pressurized Unstiffened Metallic Cylinder Using Vibration Correlation Technique

Nondestructive method to predict buckling load for the propellant tank of launch vehicle should be evaluated. Vibration correlation technique can predict the global buckling load of unstiffened cylindrical structure with geometric initial imperfection using correlation of natural frequency and compressive load from compressive test below the buckling load. In this study, vibration and buckling tests of a thin metal unstiffened propellant tank model subjected to internal pressure and compressive loads were performed and the test results were used for VCT to predict global buckling load. For the vibration test of thin structure, non-contact excitation method using a speaker was used. The response was measured with piezoelectric polymer(PVDF) sensor. Prediction results of VCT were compared with the measured buckling load in the test and the nondestructive global buckling load prediction method was verified.