The stability of filament-wound composite cylindrical shells subjected to radial pressure is examined, for the case in which edge-damage is present. The displacement equilibrium equations, based on Fhigge's quasi-linear theory, are solved using a finite complex Fourier transform together with the introduction of a displacement function. The zero of a determinantal equation, arising from the nontrivial fulfillment of the boundary conditions, furnishes the value of the critical radial pressure. The edge-damage is modeled by nonuniform boundary conditions.
From computed results it is concluded that isotropic shells are capable of withstanding edge-damage up to 50% of their circumference before a reduction in the critical pressure occurs. Anisotropy tends to weaken this sturdiness with all single and bilayered shells considered suffering a fairly sharp drop in the critical pressure sustainable after only up to 20% of the edge is "loosened". This represents a reversal of the roles of isotropy and anisotropy found by the authors for the case when the shells were subjected to axial compression. NOMENCLATURE shell radius elastic coefficients constants [eqns (S), (6)] differential operators shell thickness shell length partial differential operators moments forces pressure reduction factor axial, circumferential and normal displacements, respectively displacements transformed displacements matrices, eqn (6) Greek letters circumferential angle axial coordinate displacement function roots of the characteristic equation