Preventing Buckling of Slender Cylindrical Structures by Internal Viscous Flows

Abstract: Viscous flows within an elastic structure apply stress on the solid-liquid interface. The stress-field created by the viscous flow can be utilized to counter stress created by external forces and thus may be applied as a tool for delaying the onset of structural failure. To illustrate this concept we study viscous flow within an elastic cylinder under compressive axial force. We obtain a closed-form expression showing an approximately linear relation between the critical buckling load and the liquid inlet pressure. Our results are validated by numerical computations. We discuss future research directions of fluid-solid composite materials which create flow under external stress, yielding enhanced resistance to structural failure.