1992 CALVIN RICE LECTURE: Some Curiosity-Driven Research in Fluid Structure Interactions and Its Current Applications

Abstract

This lecture has a dual purpose: (i) to present, in outline, the research on a couple of interesting topics in fluid-structure interaction; and (ii) to show that, although this research was undertaken with little or no practical application in mind, unexpected uses and applications materialized ten or twenty years subsequently. The two topics of research chosen are (a) stability of pipes conveying fluid, and (b) stability of cylinders in axial flow. The applications and uses range from a marine propulsion system, to research on emphysema, to understanding and modeling of flow-induced vibration and leakage-flow-induced instabilities in power-generating equipment, and to the dynamics of deep-water risers.