Generalized equilibrium equations for shell derived from a generalized variational principle

In this paper, the general equations of equilibrium for axisymmetrical deformation including the torsional deformation of shells with general forms are derived as stationary conditions of a generalized variational principle, which is established by the semi-inverse method. It shows that they are different from the results obtained by Chien (1990) in case of revolutional shell, therefore Chien’s results can be further improved.