Out-of-plane distortional buckling of T-section ringbeams clamped at inner edge

A ring is generally provided at the intersection between the cylinder and cone of an elevated storage silo or tank to resist a large circumferential compressive force at the intersection (the transition junction). This ring is a main structural member and is often referred to as a ringbeam (in contrast to relatively light rings as stiffeners on shell walls). A common cross-sectional form of this ringbeam is a T-section. This paper presents an investigation into the elastic out-of-plane distortional buckling behaviour and strength of T-section ringbeams clamped at their inner edge. A clamped inner edge represents a limiting case of the inner edge support condition. The buckling strength of clamped T-section ringbeams provides a close approximation for cases in which the rotational restraint from the shell walls is heavy and a basis for formulating a buckling approximation for T-section ringbeams with a semirigid rotational restraint at the inner edge.