Buckling and Postbuckling Behavior of a Flexible Pipe Conveying Fluid

Abstract

Buckling and postbuckling behavior of a flexible clamped-hinged pipe which is hanging vertically, due to an internal flow, are examined theoretically and experimentally. The equations of the axial fluid flow and the transverse motion of the pipe, which are coupled through the nonlinear terms, are derived. Assuming that the deflection of the flexible pipe is infinitesimal, the critical velocity of fluid, above which the pipe buckles, is determined from those equations. Under the super critical condition, the stable equilibrium solution with finite amplitude is analytically obtained. Also the numerical solution, which is available for large deflection, is obtained. This solution agrees good with the analytical solution in case of small but finite deflection. Furthermore the experiment was performed by using a pipe model conveying water. The experimental result is shown to be in good agreement with the theoretical one.