A numerical study of the dynamics of elastic articulated systems in a fluid

We propose a method and an algorithm for computing the dynamics of elastic structures of articulated form in a fluid flow taking account of the weakening in certain structural elements. In describing the motion we use two sets of radius-vectors, which are approximated in the computations by parametric local splines of first degree. The possibilities of the proposed method are illustrated using the example of the study of the dynamics of transition processes in an articulated anchor-buoy structure, which arise when there is an abrupt change in the direction of the fluid flow velocity. We determine the kinematic and force characteristics of the structure under various changes in the direction of the flow velocity. We determine the structural elements in which the weakening occurs. Three figures. Bibliography: 7 titles. Translated fromTeoreticheskaya i Prikladnaya Mekhanika, No. 26, 1996, pp. 128–134.