Analytical investigation of buckling of a cylindrical shell subjected to nonuniform external pressure

An analytical algorithm is proposed for studying the stability of a cylindrical shell subjected to nonuniform external pressure. The algorithm is based on a perturbation procedure and Padé approximants. Unlike the commonly used perturbation method, this approach is not limited by the smallness of the perturbation parameter. The approximate formulas obtained are sufficiently accurate and can be used in engineering practice.