The cylinder type for this problem is used extensively for supporting external pressure loads in submarine hulls and in aerospace applications; therefore, the reference experiment models the cylinder as a free floating object for testing.
For this numerical analysis, the only required boundary conditions are those to prevent the six rigid body motions. A total of six displacements are therefore applied to three nodes located on the top plate at 0, 90, and 270 degrees; the nodes are restricted so that all rigid translations and rotations are not possible for the cylinder.
Loading consists of a uniformly distributed external differential pressure: Pext = 0.24 MPa