Gustavo R. S. Assi

The effect of rotational friction on the stability of short-tailed fairings suppressing vortex-induced vibrations

Experiments have been carried out on a free-to-rotate short-tail fairing fitted to a rigid length of circular cylinder to investigate the effect of rotational friction on the stability of this type of VIV suppressor. Measurements of the dynamic response are presented for models with low mass and damping which are free to respond in the cross-flow and streamwise directions. It is shown how VIV can be reduced if the fairing presents a rotational friction above a critical limit. In this configuration the fairing finds a stable position deflected from the flow direction and a steady lift force appears towards the side the fairing has deflected. The fluid-dynamic mechanism is very similar to that observed for a free-to-rotate splitter plate of equivalent length.Copyright

Unsteady Force Measurements on a Responding Circular Cylinder in the Wake of an Upstream Cylinder

This paper presents force measurements during flow-induced vibration of a pair of circular cylinders with low mass ratio (m ⁄ = 2:0) and low damping (z = 0:7%) aligned in a tandem arrangement. A particular case with a gap of 3 diameters centre to centre is used to examine flow-interference mechanisms occurring on a downstream cylinder, free to oscillate only in the transverse direction. The Reynolds number varies within the range 1500 < Re < 20000. A cylinder immersed in the wake of another can develop flow-induced oscillations persisting for a large range of reduced velocities. Oscillations are observed for reduced velocities, based on cylinder natural frequency measured in air, as high as 35. Apparently, the amplitude of oscillation is reaching a level of saturation of about 1:5 diameters, while the frequency of vibration is increasing at an approximate constant rate. As reduced velocity is increased two regimes of flow-induced vibration are observed: first vortex-induced vibration and then a wake-induced vibration regime. In addition, the presence of the second cylinder affects the dynamics of the upstream wake, but it is found not to synchronize the vortex shedding frequency of the upstream cylinder for the second regime of oscillations.

Investigation on the Stability of Parallel and Oblique Plates as Suppressors of Vortex-Induced Vibration of a Circular Cylinder

Experiments have been carried out with models of free-to-rotate parallel and oblique plates fitted to a rigid section of circular cylinder to investigate the effect of plate length and oblique angle on the stability of this type of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) suppressor. Measurements of the dynamic response and trajectories of motion are presented for models with low mass and damping which are free to respond in the cross-flow and streamwise directions. It is shown that, depending on a combination of some geometric parameters, the devices might not be able to completely suppress VIV for the whole range of reduced velocities investigated. Plates with larger oblique angles turned to be less stable than parallel plates and induced high-amplitude vibrations for specific reduced velocities. Systems may present streamwise vibration due to strong flow separation and reattachment on the outer surface of plates with large oblique angles. Large angles may also increase drag. Experiments with a plain cylinder in the Reynolds number range from 3000 to 20,000 have been performed to serve as reference. Reduced velocity was varied between 2 and 13. Two-dimensional numerical simulation of static systems at Re = 10,000 revealed that complex and fully separated flow regimes exist for almost all investigated cases. There is a good chance that systems with such geometric characteristics will be unstable unless other structural parameters are positively verified.

Experimental Investigation on the Stability of Parallel and Oblique Plates as Suppressors of Vortex-Induced Vibration

Experiments have been carried out on models of free-to-rotate parallel and oblique plates fitted to a rigid section of circular cylinder to investigate the effect of plate length and oblique angle on the stability of this type of VIV (vortex-induced vibration) suppressor. Measurements of the dynamic response and trajectories of motion are presented for models with low mass and damping which are free to respond in the cross-flow and streamwise directions. It is shown that, depending on a combination of geometric parameters — such as plate length, plate angle and gap between plates and cylinder — devices might not be able to completely suppress VIV for the whole range of reduced velocities investigated. Plates with larger oblique angles turned to be less stable than parallel plates and induced high-amplitude vibrations for some specific reduced velocities. An undesirable steady lateral force was also observed to occur for all configurations and might be related to the existence of a large gap and oblique angles. Systems may present streamwise vibration due to strong flow separation and reattachment on the outer surface of plates with large oblique angles. Large angles may also increase drag. Experiments with a plain cylinder in the Reynolds number range from 3,000 to 20,000 have been performed to serve as reference. Reduced velocity was varied between 2 and 13.Copyright

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE VORTEX-INDUCED VIBRATION OF A CURVED CYLINDER

Experiments have been conducted in a water channel in order to investigate the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) response of a rigid section of a curved circular cylinder. Two curved configurations were tested regarding the direction of the approaching flow, a concave or a convex cylinder, in addition to a straight cylinder that served as reference. Amplitude and frequency response are presented versus reduced velocity for a wide Reynolds number range between 750 and 15,000. Trajectories in the cross-flow and streamwise direction are presented as well for several reduced velocities. Results show a distinct behaviour from the typical VIV of a straight cylinder highlighting the effect of curvature on vortex formation and excitation. The concave configuration presents relatively high amplitudes of vibration that are sustained beyond the typical synchronisation region. The mechanism behind the response is not yet clear, although authors suggest it might be related to some kind of buffeting excitation due to the disturbed flow from

VIV suppression and drag reduction with pivoted control plates on a circular cylinder

Experiments have been carried out on two-dimensional devices fitted to a rigid length of circular cylinder to investigate the efficiency of pivoting control plates as VIV suppressors. Measurements are presented for a circular cylinder with low mass and damping which is free to respond in the cross-flow direction. It is shown how vortex-induced vibration can be practically eliminated by using free to rotate, two-dimensional control plates. Unlike helical strakes, the devices achieve VIV suppression with drag reduction. The device producing the largest drag reduction was found to have a drag coefficient equal to about 70% of that for a plain cylinder at the same Reynolds number.Copyright

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF FLOW-INDUCED VIBRATIONS INTERFERENCE BETWEEN TWO CIRCULAR CYLINDERS IN TANDEM ARRANGEMENTS

This paper presents experimental results concerning flow-induced oscillations of rigid-circular cylinders in tandem. Preliminary results are presented: new measurements on the dynamic response oscillations of an isolated cylinder and flow interference of two cylinders in tandem are shown. The oscillations are due to vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). Models are mounted on an elastic base fitted with flexor blades and instrumented with strain gages. The base is fixed on the test section of a water channel facility. The flexor blades possess a low damping characteristic [ζ ≈ 0.008 and less] and they are free to oscillate only in the cross-flow direction. The Reynolds number of the experiments is from 3,000 to 13,000 and reduced velocities, based on natural frequency in still water, range up to 12. The interference phenomenon on flow-induced vibrations can be investigated by conducting experiments in two ways: first, the upstream cylinder is maintained fixed and the downstream one is mounted on the elastic base; subsequently, an investigation will be carried out letting both cylinders oscillate transversally. The results for an isolated cylinder are in accordance with other measurements in the literature for m* ≈ 2 and m* ≈ 8. For the tandem arrangement (m* ≈ 2), the trailing cylinder oscillation presents what previous researchers have termed interference galloping behaviour for a centre-to-centre gap spacing ranging from 3·0D to 5·6D. These initial results validate the experimental set up and lead the way for future work; including tandem, staggered and side-by-side arrangements with the two cylinders free to move.Copyright

VIV Response and Drag Measurements of Circular Cylinders Fitted With Permeable Meshes

Experiments have been carried out on models of rigid circular cylinders fitted with three different types of permeable meshes to investigate their effectiveness in the suppression of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). Measurements of amplitude of vibration and drag force are presented for models with low mass and damping which are free to respond in the cross-flow direction. Results for two meshes made of ropes and cylindrical tubes are compared with the VIV response of a bare cylinder and that of a known suppressor called the “ventilated trousers” (VT). All three meshes achieved an average 50% reduction of the peak response when compared with that of the bare cylinder. The sparse mesh configuration presented a similar behaviour to the VT, while the dense mesh produced considerable VIV response for an indefinitely long range of reduced velocity. All the three meshes have increased drag when compared with that of the bare cylinder. Reynolds number ranged from 5,000 to 25,000 and reduced velocity was varied between 2 and 15.Copyright

Suppression of the Vortex-Induced Vibration of a Circular Cylinder With Permeable Meshes

Experiments have been carried out on models of rigid circular cylinders fitted with three different types of permeable meshes to investigate their effectiveness in the suppression of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). Measurements of the dynamic response are presented for models with low mass and damping which are free to respond in the cross-flow direction. Reynolds number ranged from 1,000 to 10,000 and reduced velocity was varied between 2 and 13. Also presented are measurements of the wake of static models with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) at Reynolds number equal to 4000. Results for two meshes made of ropes and cylindrical tubes are compared with the VIV response of a bare cylinder and that of a known suppressor called the “ventilated trousers” (VT). All three meshes achieved an average 50% reduction of the response when compared with that of the bare cylinder. The sparse mesh configuration presented a similar behaviour to the VT, while the dense mesh produced considerable VIV response for an indefinitely long range of reduced velocity. Visualisation of the flow by PIV around static cylinders revealed that all suppressors disrupt the vortex shedding and increase the formation length when compared to the bare cylinder. The VT mesh, which presented the best suppression, also presented the largest vortex formation length.© 2014 ASME

The Effect of Plate Length on the Behaviour of Free-to-Rotate VIV Suppressors With Parallel Plates

Experiments have been carried out on free-to-rotate parallel plates fitted to a rigid section of circular cylinder to investigate the effect of plate length on the stability of this type of VIV (vortex-induced vibration) suppressor. Measurements of the dynamic response and trajectories are presented for models with low mass and damping which are free to respond in the cross-flow and streamwise directions. It is shown that, depending on a combination of geometric and strucutral parameters, parallel plates might not be able to completely suppress VIV for the whole range of reduced velocities investigated. Plates with length between 1.0 and 2.0 diameters showed instabilities and induced high-amplitude vibrations for some specific reduced velocities. Rotational friction was increased for a second run and all plates stabilised and suppressed VIV for the whole range of reduced velocities tested. An undesirable steady lateral force was also observed to occur for all configurations. Experiments with a plain cylinder in the Reynolds number range from 1,000 to 20,000 have been performed to serve as reference.Copyright