Pseudo-nonlinear dynamic analysis of buckled pipes

In this study, the post-divergence behavior of fluid-conveying pipes supported at both ends is investigated using the nonlinear equations of motion. The governing equation exhibits a cubic nonlinearity arising from mid-plane stretching. Exact solutions for post-buckling configurations of pipes with fixed–fixed, fixed–hinged, and hinged–hinged boundary conditions are investigated. The pipe is stable at its original static equilibrium position until the flow velocity becomes high enough to cause a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation, and the pipe loses stability by static divergence. In the supercritical fluid velocity regime, the equilibrium configuration becomes unstable and bifurcates into multiple equilibrium positions. To investigate the vibrations that occur in the vicinity of a buckled equilibrium position, the pseudo-nonlinear vibration problem around the first buckled configuration is solved precisely using a new solution procedure. By solving the resulting eigenvalue problem, the natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes of the pipe are calculated. The dynamic stability of the post-buckling configurations obtained in this manner is investigated. The first buckled shape is a stable equilibrium position for all boundary conditions. The buckled configurations beyond the first buckling mode are unstable equilibrium positions. The natural frequencies of the lowest vibration modes around each of the first two buckled configurations are presented. Effects of the system parameters on pipe behavior as well as the possibility of a subcritical pitchfork bifurcation are also investigated. The results show that many internal resonances might be activated among the vibration modes around the same or different buckled configurations.