Stability of fluid-conveying periodic shells on an elastic foundation with external loads

This paper presents the beam-mode stability of a fluid-conveying periodic shell on an elastic foundation subjected to external loading. A transfer matrix (TM) method was developed to investigate the characteristics of steady-state waves in the system and the dynamic response of the periodic shell system. When subjected to external perturbations, including either a moving load or a stationary one, the shell may be subjected to instability for flow velocities exceeding a certain critical velocity. The system can also become unstable when a travelling load exceeds a certain critical value. The coupled effects of the speed of a moving load and the flow velocity of a fluid on the stability of the shell system were also investigated. A periodic structure was designed for such a shell system to enhance its dynamic stability. The periodic shell system produces innumerable velocity band gaps (VBGs), which could raise the critical velocity and extend the stable range for both the moving load and the flowing fluid. Finally, the formation mechanism of the VBGs was studied, as well as the effects of the thickness, length of the shell cells, Young׳s modulus and stiffness of the elastic foundation on modulating the VBGs.