Vortical patterns behind a tapered cylinder oscillating transversely

Visualization studies of the flow behind an oscillating tapered cylinder are performed at Reynolds numbers from 400 to 1500. The cylinder has taper ratio 40:1 and is moving at constant forward speed U while being forced to oscillate harmonically in the transverse direction. It is shown that within the lock-in region and above a threshold amplitude, no cells form and, instead, a single frequency of response dominates the entire span. Within certain frequency ranges a single mode dominates in the wake, consisting of shedding along the entire span of either two vortices per cycle (`2S' mode), or four vortices per cycle (`2P' mode); but within specific parametric ranges a hybrid mode is observed, consisting of a `2S' pattern along the part of the span with the larger diameter and a `2P' pattern along the part of the span with the smaller diameter. A distinct vortex split connects the two patterns which are phaselocked and have the same frequency. The hybrid mode is periodic, unlike vortex dislocations, and the location of the vortex split remains stable and repeatable, within one to two diameters, depending on the amplitude and frequency of oscillation and the Reynolds number

Forces on oscillating uniform and tapered cylinders in a crossflow

Forces are measured at both ends of rigid cylinders with span 60 cm, performing transverse oscillations within an oncoming stream of water, at Reynolds number Re ~3800. Forced harmonic motions and free vibrations of uniform and tapered cylinders are studied. To study free motions, a novel force-feedback control system has been developed, consisting of: (a) a force transducer, which measures forces on a section of a cylinder moving forward at constant speed; (b) a computer using the measured force signal to drive in real time a numerical simulation of an equivalent mass-dashpot-spring system; (c) a servomotor and linear table which impose, also in real time, the numerically calculated motion on the cylinder section. The apparatus allows very low equivalent system damping and strict control of the parametric values and structure of the equivalent system. Calculation of the cross-correlation coefficient between forces at the two ends of the uniform cylinder reveals five distinct regimes as a function of the nominal reduced velocity Vrn: two regimes, for low and high values of Vrn, and far away from the value of VrS corresponding to the Strouhal frequency, show small correlation; two regimes immediately adjacent to, but excluding, VrS show strong correlation, close to 1; surprisingly, there is a regime containing the Strouhal frequency, within which correlation is low. Free vibrations with a 40:1 tapered cylinder show that the regime of low correlation, containing the Strouhal frequency, stretches to higher reduced velocities, while lock-in starts at lower reduced velocities. When comparing the amplitude and phase of the lift coefficient measured for free and then for forced vibrations, we obtain close agreement, both for tapered and uniform cylinders. When comparing the cross-correlation coefficient however, we find that it is much higher in the forced oscillations, especially for the uniform cylinder. Hence, although the force magnitude and phase may be replicated well in forced vibrations, the correlation data suggest that differences exist between free and forced vibration cases

The effects of spring stiffness on vortex-induced vibration for energy generation

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) is the turbulent motion induced on bluff body that generates alternating lift forces and results in irregular movement of the body. VIV-powered system seems a good idea in greening the energy sector and most importantly is its ability to take advantages of low current speed of water to generate electricity. This paper aims to investigate the effects of spring stiffness on the characteristic of VIV. The study is important in order to maximize these potentially destructive vibrations into a valuable resource of energy. Five cylinders with the range of 0.25 to 2.00 inch diameter are tested to study the behavior of VIV. Results from this experiment indicates that, the 2.0 inch cylinder gave the lowest error in frequency ratio which is 1.1% and have a high potential of lock-in condition to occur. In term of maximum amplitude, this cylinder gave the highest amplitude of oscillation motion that is equal to 0.0065 m

Acoustic measurement of the Deepwater Horizon Macondo well flow rate

On May 31, 2010, a direct acoustic measurement method was used to quantify fluid leakage rate from the Deepwater Horizon Macondo well prior to removal of its broken riser. This method utilized an acoustic imaging sonar and acoustic Doppler sonar operating onboard a remotely operated vehicle for noncontact measurement of flow cross-section and velocity from the well’s two leak sites. Over 2,500 sonar cross-sections and over 85,000 Doppler velocity measurements were recorded during the acquisition process. These data were then applied to turbulent jet and plume flow models to account for entrained water and calculate a combined hydrocarbon flow rate from the two leak sites at seafloor conditions. Based on the chemical composition of end-member samples collected from within the well, this bulk volumetric rate was then normalized to account for contributions from gases and condensates at initial leak source conditions. Results from this investigation indicate that on May 31, 2010, the well’s oil flow rate was approximately 0.10 ± 0.017 m[superscript 3] s[superscript -1] at seafloor conditions, or approximately 85 ± 15 kg s[superscript -1] (7.4 ± 1.3 Gg d[superscript -1]), equivalent to approximately 57,000 ± 9,800 barrels of oil per day at surface conditions. End-member chemical composition indicates that this oil release rate was accompanied by approximately an additional 24 ± 4.2 kg s[superscript -1] (2.1 ± 0.37 Gg d[superscript -1]) of natural gas (methane through pentanes), yielding a total hydrocarbon release rate of 110 ± 19 kg s[superscript -1] (9.5 ± 1.6 Gg d[superscript -1]).United States. Coast Guard (Contract HSCG32-10-CR00020)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (RAPID Grant OCE-1045025