The dynamic behaviour of elastic coaxial cylindrical shells conveying fluid

The dynamic behaviour of elastic coaxial cylindrica shells, which interact with a flow of compressible fluid in the inner shell or in the annular gap between the shells when both flows are present, is investigated by the finite element method. A number of test problems is considered in the case of cantilevered coaxial shells. The effect on the stability limit ache gap between the two shells is investigated for different values of the stiffness parameters of the outer shell and the fluid flow. An important difference is found with existing solutions in cases when the loss of stability of the coaxial shells occurs at higher oscillation modes. It is established that, for a certain value of the gap between the shells, the elasticity of the outer shell may have a stabilizing effect. It is shown that the presence of internal and annular flows simultaneously has a considerable stabilizing effect, while a loss of stability when the flow rates increase occurs at extremely high oscillation modes. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.