On the flip-flop mode of dynamic buckle propagation in tubes under external pressure

Buckle propagation in offshore pipelines is a catastrophic mode of failure critical to the design and operation of such structures. The collapse of a locally weakened section in the pipeline can initiate a buckle that travels at high velocity, flattening long sections of the structure. The propagating buckle velocity increases with the ambient pressure and, as the collapse pressure of the pipe is approached, propagation switches to the flip-flop...