Wave propagation modeling of fluid-filled pipes using hybrid analytical/two-dimensional finite element method

Abstract In this paper, a Hybrid Analytical/Two-Dimensional Finite Element Method (2-D HAFEM) is proposed to analyze wave propagation characteristics of fluid-filled, composite pipes. In the proposed method, a fluid-filled pipe with a constant cross-section is modeled by using a 2-D finite element approximation in the cross-sectional area while an analytical wave solution is assumed in the axial direction. Thus, it makes possible to use a small number of finite elements even for high frequency analyses in a computationally efficient manner. Both solid and fluid elements as well as solid–fluid interface boundary conditions are developed to model the cross-section of the fluid-filled pipe. In addition, an acoustical transfer function (ATF) approach based on the 2-D HAFEM formulation is suggested to analyze a pipe system assembled with multiple pipe sections with different cross-sections. An ATF matrix relating two sets of acoustic wave variables at the ends of each individual pipe section with a constant cross-section is first calculated and the total ATF matrix for the multi-sectional pipe system is then obtained by multiplying all individual ATF matrices. Therefore, the HAFEM-based ATF approach requires significantly low computational resources, in particular, when there are many pipe sections with a same cross-sectional shape since a single 2-D HAFEM model is needed for these pipe sections. For the validation of the proposed method, experimental and full 3-D FE modeling results are compared to the results obtained by using the HAFEM-based ATF procedure.