Curved slender structures in non-uniform flows

General expressions are derived for the load distribution acting on an arbi trary curved and twisted rigid or deformable slender cylindrical structure moving in an ambient non-uniform potential flow field. Further simplificati ons are presented for flexible shapes in the limit of a small cross-section . The general analysis is illustrated for straight, toroidal and helical sh apes. These shapes are frequently encountered in nature and are good exampl es of typical fluid-structure interaction problems.