John W. Hutchinson [photo credit: CALTECH]
The lecture, scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Lees-Kubota Lecture Hall, will highlight how modern manufacturing precision and theoretical developments are enabling substantially lighter shell structures than those designed under decades-old standards.
Hutchinson, the Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Engineering Emeritus at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will discuss efforts underway in the U.S., China and Europe to update design codes for shell buckling that have remained largely unchanged for 60 years.
Shell buckling refers to the phenomenon where thin-walled, curved structures (like cylindrical or spherical shells) lose their stability under certain loads, causing them to deform or collapse. This instability typically occurs when the applied force exceeds a critical threshold, leading to sudden and often dramatic changes in the shape of the shell.
Engineers and scientists study shell buckling to ensure the safety and reliability of structures like rockets, tanks, and pipelines, which often use thin-walled designs for efficiency and weight reduction
“Shell structures are susceptible to catastrophic collapse and dramatic load-carrying reductions due to relatively small imperfections in their geometry,” according to the lecture announcement. These imperfections must be carefully factored into buckling load calculations.
The talk will be accessible to a broad engineering audience and will include presentations on current experimental and theoretical work by Hutchinson and his collaborators on the imperfection-sensitivity of stiffened shell structures.
Hutchinson’s research at Harvard focuses on problems in solid mechanics related to engineering materials and structures, including buckling, structural stability, elasticity, plasticity, fracture and micromechanics.
Caltech was a leading center for shell buckling research during its intensive study period six decades ago. The field has recently experienced renewed interest driven by both structural applications and developments in soft materials for life sciences.
For more information about the event, call Sarah Pontes at (626) 395-2118 or email spontes@caltech.edu.
