This paper deals with the stability and dynamic evolution of a sliding pipe conveying fluid in the three-dimensional sense. The pipe is assumed to slide out from a fixed channel so that its free end is moving at the same time, a problem often associated with instabilities in applications of aerial refueling operation. To tackle this problem, the nonlinear governing equations of motion are derived by using the Hamilton’s principle and then reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations by the Galerkin’s method. A parametric study is performed to explore the transient vibration responses of the pipe for different values of flow velocity and sliding rate. Various dynamic behaviors are detected for the pipe in sliding and conveying fluid. The results show that 3-D oscillations of the pipe occur when the flow velocity exceeds a certain value, which can be affected by the sliding rate. For various flow velocities, the evolution of the dynamic characteristics of the sliding pipe can be classified into three typical types of motion. When at low flow velocity, the pipe is mainly subjected to a single type of 3-D motion. When the flow speed increases to high values, multi-type of 3-D motion consisting of three typical types occurs on the pipe. In addition, the pipe can display planar motions, transferring from one plane to the other. The result presented herein is helpful to understand the stabilities and dynamic behaviors of sliding-pipe systems used in aerial refueling applications.
Stability and Dynamic Evolution of Three‐dimensional Flux Ropes