Thin-walled cylindrical shell structure not only shows the highly efficient load carrying capacity but also is vulnerable to buckling instability failure. In practical application, these structures are usually subjected to localized axial compression load, which is a common but complex non-uniform loading case. Until now, the buckling behaviors of thin-walled cylindrical shells under this kind of compression loading condition are still unclear, and there are also few relevant investigations. In order to fill this research gap, in the first part of this series paper the experimental studies on the buckling behaviors of thin-walled cylindrical shells under localized axial compression loads were performed for the first time. The buckling tests of twenty-one steel cylindrical shells were carried out in this paper and some key experimental details were given. The strain curve, axial load–displacement curve, critical buckling load as well as the buckling modes of cylindrical shells under localized axial compression load were systematically discussed. Test results indicated that the localized axial compression load plays a pivotal role in the buckling behaviors of thin-walled cylindrical shell, not matter from the point of view of load carrying capacity, load–displacement curve or buckling mode. The experimental results obtained from this work can be served as a benchmark for related research in this field of buckling analysis of thin-walled cylindrical shells.

薄壁圆柱壳结构不仅表现出高效的承载能力，而且容易发生屈曲失稳破坏。在实际应用中，这些结构通常会承受局部轴向压缩载荷，这是一种常见但复杂的非均匀载荷情况。到目前为止，薄壁圆柱壳在这种压缩载荷条件下的屈曲行为还不清楚，相关研究也很少。为了填补这一研究空白，本系列论文的第一部分首次对薄壁圆柱壳在局部轴向压缩载荷下的屈曲行为进行了实验研究。本文对21个钢质圆柱壳进行了屈曲试验，并给出了一些关键的试验细节。系统地讨论了圆柱壳在局部轴向压缩载荷作用下的应变曲线、轴向载荷-位移曲线、临界屈曲载荷以及屈曲模式。试验结果表明，局部轴向压缩载荷在薄壁圆柱壳的屈曲行为中起关键作用，无论是从承载能力、载荷-位移曲线还是屈曲模式的角度来看。该工作获得的实验结果可作为该领域薄壁圆柱壳屈曲分析相关研究的基准。系统讨论了临界屈曲载荷以及局部轴向压缩载荷作用下圆柱壳的屈曲模式。试验结果表明，局部轴向压缩载荷在薄壁圆柱壳的屈曲行为中起关键作用，无论是从承载能力、载荷-位移曲线还是屈曲模式的角度来看。该工作获得的实验结果可作为该领域薄壁圆柱壳屈曲分析相关研究的基准。系统讨论了临界屈曲载荷以及局部轴向压缩载荷作用下圆柱壳的屈曲模式。试验结果表明，局部轴向压缩载荷在薄壁圆柱壳的屈曲行为中起关键作用，无论是从承载能力、载荷-位移曲线还是屈曲模式的角度来看。该工作获得的实验结果可作为该领域薄壁圆柱壳屈曲分析相关研究的基准。载荷-位移曲线或屈曲模式。该工作获得的实验结果可作为该领域薄壁圆柱壳屈曲分析相关研究的基准。载荷-位移曲线或屈曲模式。该工作获得的实验结果可作为该领域薄壁圆柱壳屈曲分析相关研究的基准。