Generalized asymptotic expansions for coupled wavenumbers in fluid-filled cylindrical shells

Analytical expressions are found for the coupled wavenumbers in an infinite fluid-filled cylindrical shell using the asymptotic methods. These expressions are valid for any general circumferential order (n). The shallow shell theory (which is more accurate at higher frequencies) is used to model the cylinder. Initially, the in vacuo shell is dealt with and asymptotic expressions are derived for the shell wavenumbers in the high- and the low-frequency regimes. Next, the fluid-filled shell is considered. Defining a relevant fluid-loading parameter μ , we find solutions for the limiting cases of small and large μ . Wherever relevant, a frequency scaling parameter along with some ingenuity is used to arrive at an elegant asymptotic expression. In all cases, Poissonʹs ratio ν is used as an expansion variable. The asymptotic results are compared with numerical solutions of the dispersion equation and the dispersion relation obtained by using the more general Donnell–Mushtari shell theory (in vacuo and fluid-filled). A good match is obtained. Hence, the contribution of this work lies in the extension of the existing literature to include arbitrary circumferential orders (n).