Propagation of kink and anti-kink waves in fiber-reinforced thermo-hyperelastic cylindrical shells

Nonlinear waves exhibit high sensitivity to internal damage in marine pipelines. Studying the propagation of nonlinear waves in fiber-reinforced hyperelastic cylindrical shells holds promising application prospects for marine structural safety. However, existing studies often fail to sufficiently account for the thermo-mechanical coupling effects of these composites under actual working conditions, leading to discrepancies between theoretical predictions and engineering practices. Therefore, this paper investigates the propagation of various nonlinear waves in a fiber-reinforced thermo-hyperelastic Mooney-Rivlin cylindrical shell. First, the governing equations of the structural dynamics are established using Hamilton’s variational principle. Second, the effects of temperature fields and material parameters on the evolution characteristics of bounded traveling waves are systematically investigated via bifurcation theory. Finally, numerical simulations of the kink and anti-kink waves are performed. Notably, topologically protected kink and anti-kink waves are identified in the cylindrical shell. These waves maintain highly stable waveforms during propagation and exhibit robustness against environmental disturbances, making them potentially suitable for pipeline defect detection. This study provides a theoretical foundation for the safety monitoring of marine pipelines and offers a reference for future research on defect detection in marine pipelines.