An efficient solver for fully coupled solution of interaction between incompressible fluid flow and nanocomposite truncated conical shells

Abstract

In this research, the dynamic instabilities of nanocomposite truncated conical shells containing a quiescent or a flowing inviscid fluid are scrutinized. Nonlinear dynamic equations are established according to the Novozhilov nonlinear shell theory along with Green’s strains and Hamilton principle. The velocity potential and Bernoulli’s equations are adopted to calculate fluid pressure acting on the conical shell. The nonlinear governing equations are discretized using trigonometric expansion through the circumferential direction and generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) through the meridional direction. A detailed parametric study is directed to provide an insight into the influence of volume fraction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), CNT dispersion, geometrical parameters, and boundary conditions on the divergence and flutter instabilities of nanocomposite truncated conical shells. This study shows the superb efficiency of the outlined solution procedure in reducing computational costs and virtual storage. The simulation indicates that the beginning of divergence and flutter instabilities can be significantly postponed by selecting an appropriate dispersion of CNTs through the thickness of the conical shell. Furthermore, the onset of flutter and divergence instabilities are found to be very sensitive to the semi-vertex angle and thickness-to-radius ratio. The results of this research shed light into using ultra-high-strength and low-weight nanocomposite for pressure vessels applications.