Extended Hamilton's principle for fluid-structure interaction

The problem of vortex-shedding from bluff bodies has been examined for over a century, as reflected by the extensive literature on the subject. The focus of these foregoing researches can be split into two broad categories: investigations into the flow characteristics around a body in a flow, and studies of the response of a bluff body to the forces from the flow. The approach sought here, to derive a set of equations of motion for a structure subjected to vortex-shedding loads from first principles, represents a novel approach to a long-studied problem. The work at hand also embraces two disciplines: vortex-shedding from bluff bodies, and the dynamics of a compliant offshore structure.