Buckling of Conical Shells Under External Pressure

It is shown that the initial and the buckled shapes of a certain element of a conical shell can be considered as similar to those of an element of a cylindrical shell of which the radius and length are conservatively determined. It is concluded that therefore the buckling pressure of the conical shell is equal to that of the comparable cylindrical shell. A simple method for finding the buckling pressure if it varies along a generatrix is also given.