Dynamic behaviour of an axially moving plate undergoing small cylindrical deformation submerged in axially flowing ideal fluid

The out-of-plane dynamic response of a moving plate, travelling between two rollers at a constant velocity, is studied, taking into account the mutual interaction between the vibrating plate and the surrounding, axially flowing ideal fluid. Transverse displacement of the plate (assumed cylindrical) is described by an integro-differential equation that includes a local inertia term, Coriolis and centrifugal forces, the aerodynamic reaction of the external medium, the vertical projection of membrane tension, the bending resistance, and external perturbation forces. In the two-dimensional model thus set up, the aerodynamic reaction is found analytically as a functional of the cylindrical displacement, using the techniques of complex analysis. The resulting integro-differential problem is discretized in space with the Fourier-Galerkin method, and integrated in time with the diagonalization method. Examples are computed with physical parameters corresponding to air and some paper materials. The effects of the surrounding fluid on the critical velocity and first natural frequency are investigated, for stationary air, for an air mass moving with the plate, and for some arbitrary axial fluid velocities. The obtained results are applicable for both an ideal membrane and a plate with nonzero bending rigidity. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.