SUMMARYThis paper presents four boundary element formulations for post buckling analysis of shear deformable shallow shells. The main differences between the formulations rely on the way non-linear terms are treated and on the number of degrees of freedom in the domain. Boundary integral equations are obtained by coupling boundary element formulation of shear deformable plate and two-dimensional plane stress elasticity. Four different sets of non-linear integral equations are presented. Some domain integrals are treated directly with domain discretization whereas others are dealt indirectly with the dual reciprocity method. Each set of non-linear boundary integral equations are solved using an incremental approach, where loads and prescribed boundary conditions are applied in small but finite increments. The resulting systems of equations are solved using a purely incremental technique and the Newton-Raphson technique with the Arc length method. Finally, the effect of imperfections (obtained from a linear buckling analysis) on the post-buckling behaviour of axially compressed shallow shells is investigated. Results of several benchmark examples are compared with the published work and good agreement is obtained.