Chaotic oscillations of long pipes conveying fluid in the presence of a large end-mass

Copeland and Moon’s experimental results for a long pipe conveying fluid in the presence of a relatively large end-mass have displayed some truly fascinating dynamical behavior. Numerical studies, on the other hand, have all dealt with shorter pipes and smaller end-masses, mainly because the numerical convergence of the theoretical results for long pipes with large end-masses is problematic. In this paper, numerical results are presented for Copeland and Moon’s system parameters, reproducing some of the rich dynamics they obtained, including coupled planar and pendular oscillations, planar oscillations rotating through a finite angle, and planar motions rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise.

► A very long pipe conveying fluid with a large end-mass is studied.
► Numerical results for Copeland and Moon’s experimental results are presented.
► Period-doubling and quasiperiodic routes to chaos are observed.