Experiments on transition junctions in steel silos

A program at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on the buckling and collapse of shell junctions in elevated steel silos, tanks and pressure vessels is discussed. With a large amount of effort and care, an experimental facility was developed which can be used for buckling experiments. Test results on shell junctions show that for both internally-pressurized cone-cylinder junctions and cone-cylinder-skirt transition junctions in steel silos, the non-buckling mode is associated with a stable post-buckling path. In internally-pressurized cone-cylinder junctions, the growth of short-wave buckles can cause large strains at the circumferential weld and eventual rupture.