Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 April 1999
General expressions are derived for the load distribution acting on an arbitrary curved and twisted rigid or deformable slender cylindrical structure moving in an ambient non-uniform potential flow field. Further simplifications are presented for flexible shapes in the limit of a small cross-section. The general analysis is illustrated for straight, toroidal and helical shapes. These shapes are frequently encountered in nature and are good examples of typical fluid–structure interaction problems.