Nonlinear dynamics and stability of cantilevered circular cylindrical shells conveying fluid

In this paper, the nonlinear dynamics of thin circular cylindrical shells with clamped-free boundary conditions subjected to axial internal flow is theoretically analyzed for the first time. The nonlinearity is geometric and is related to the large deformation of the structure. The nonlinear model of the shell is based on the Flügge shell theory; in this model, in-plane inertia terms and all the nonlinear terms due to the mid-surface stretching are retained. The fluid is considered to be inviscid and incompressible, and its modelling is based on linearized potential flow theory. The fluid behaviour beyond the free end of the shell is described by an outflow model, which characterizes the fluid boundary condition at the free end of the shell. At the clamped end, however, it is assumed that the fluid remains unperturbed. The Fourier transform method is used to solve the governing equations for the fluid and to obtain the hydrodynamic forces. The extended Hamilton principle is utilized to formulate the coupled fluid–structure system, and a direct approach is employed to discretize the space domain of the problem. The resulting coupled nonlinear ODEs are integrated numerically, and bifurcation analyses are performed using the AUTO software. Results indicate that the shell loses stability through a supercritical Hopf bifurcation giving rise to a stable periodic motion (limit cycle). The amplitude of this oscillation grows with flow velocity until it loses stability to nonperiodic oscillatory motion, namely, quasiperiodic and chaotic oscillation. The values of the critical flow velocities for various length-to-radius ratios obtained by nonlinear theory agree well with available experimental data.