Experimental investigation of the flow-induced vibration of a curved cylinder in convex and concave configurations

Experiments have been conducted to investigate the two-degree-of-freedom vortex-induced vibration (VIV) response of a rigid section of a curved circular cylinder with low mass-damping ratio. Two curved configurations, a concave and a convex, were tested regarding the direction of the flow, in addition to a straight cylinder that served as reference. Amplitude and frequency responses are presented versus reduced velocity for a Reynolds number range between 750 and 15 000. Results for the curved cylinders with concave and convex configurations revealed significantly lower vibration amplitudes when compared to the typical VIV response of a straight cylinder. However, the concave cylinder showed relatively higher amplitudes than the convex cylinder which were sustained beyond the typical synchronisation region. We believe this distinct behaviour between the convex and the concave configurations is related to the wake interference taking place in the lower half of the curvature due to perturbations generated in the horizontal section when it is positioned upstream. Particle-image velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the separated flow along the cylinder highlight the effect of curvature on vortex formation and excitation revealing a complex fluid–structure interaction mechanism

Experimental investigation of the flow-induced vibration of a curved circular cylinder

Experiments have been conducted to investigate the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) response of a rigid section of a curved circular cylinder. Two curved configurations, a concave and a convex, were tested regarding the direction of the flow, in addition to a straight cylinder that served as reference. Amplitude and frequency response are presented versus reduced velocity for a Reynolds number range between 750 and 15,000. Results showed that the curved cylinders presented significant less vibration for both concave and convex configurations when compared to the typical VIV response of a straight cylinder. The concave configuration presented relatively high amplitudes of vibration that are sustained beyond the typical synchronisation region. We believe this distinct behaviour between the convex and the concave configurations is related to the wake interference happening in the lower half of the curvature due to perturbations generated in the horizontal section when it is positioned upstream. Particle-image velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the separated flow along the cylinder highlight the effect of curvature on vortex formation and excitation revealing a complex fluid-structure interaction mechanism

Experimental investigation of the vortex-induced vibration of a curved cylinder

This presentation looks at the experimental investigation of the vortex-induced vibration of a curved cylinder

Experimental and analytical investigation of the flow around circular cylinder with VIV suppressors.

O escoamento de um fluido ao redor de corpos rombudos configura-se em um dos principais problemas da mecânica dos fluidos. As investigações deste fenômeno são baseadas em técnicas analíticas, numéricas e experimentais. Cada abordagem apresenta suas vantagens e desvantagens, sendo impossível a plena caracterização do escoamento através de uma única técnica para a maioria das geometrias de corpo e condições de escoamento. É neste contexto que se insere esta tese, que compreende um estudo fundamental sobre a dinâmica de formação e desprendimento de vórtices baseado em técnicas experimentais. Primeiramente, realiza-se um estudo de estabilidade hidrodinâmica do escoamento em torno de cilindro circular via modelo de Ginzburg-Landau. Os resultados experimentais deste estudo serviram para validar simulações numéricas e a principal técnica experimental utilizada foi a Velocimetria por Imagem de Partículas (PIV). A decomposição de campos de velocidade em série de Fourier permite verificar a hierarquia sugerida pela solução assintótica da bifurcação de Hopf. Além disso, os resultados também indicam quando a tridimensionalidade passa a ser importante no escoamento. A tridimensionalidade do escoamento está intimamente ligada ao fenômeno de vibração induzida por vórtices (VIV), que exerce efeitos danosos em uma grande quantidade de estruturas sujeitas a escoamentos fluidos. Com o objetivo de suprimir as VIV, realizou-se um estudo paramétrico do supressor do tipo strakes helicoidal, que é bastante empregado na indústria offshore. Verificou-se que os strakes modificam as características tridimensionais da esteira de um cilindro. Apesar da eficiência dos strakes na supressão de VIV, eles possuem algumas limitações inerentes às características hidrodinâmicas do escoamento. Sendo assim, apresenta-se uma técnica que reduz as tridimensionalidades de modo a tornar o escoamento bidimensional, com a possibilidade de controle ativo de malha fechada. O método de controle de camada limite por superfícies móveis (CCLSM) suprime VIV e diminui o arrasto atrasando a separação da camada limite do cilindro através da injeção de quantidade de movimento angular pelos cilindros de controle rotativos.The fluid flow around bluff bodies is one of the main problems in fluid mechanics. The investigations of this phenomenon are based on analytical, numerical and experimental techniques. Each technique presents advantages and disadvantages, being impossible the comprehensive characterization of the flow though only one technique for the majority of body geometries and flow conditions. Within this context, the present thesis is proposed, which comprehends a fundamental study about the vortex shedding dynamics based on experimental techniques. Firstly, a hydrodynamic stability study of the flow around a circular cylinder is performed using the Ginzburg-Landau model. The experimental results of this study allowed the validation of numerical simulations and the main experimental technique employed was the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The Fourier series decomposition of velocity fields permits to verify the hierarch suggested by the asymptotic solution of the Hopf bifurcation. Additionally, the results also indicate when the three-dimensionalities become important in the flow. The flow three-dimensionality is closely associated to the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) phenomenon, which exerts damaging effects on a great quantity of structures subjected to fluid flows. In order to suppress VIV, it was realized a parametric investigation of the helical strakes, that are commonly employed in the offshore industry. One verifies that the strakes modify the three-dimensional characteristics of the cylinder wake. Despite of the strake efficiency regarding the VIV suppression, the strakes have some limitations that are inherent to the flow hydrodynamic features. Consequently, it is presented a technique that reduces the three-dimensionalities in order to create a two-dimensional flow, with the possibility of closed-loop active control. The moving surface boundary-layer control (MSBC) suppresses VIV and reduces the drag delaying the cylinder boundary-layer separation through the injection of angular momentum by the rotational control cylinders

Formation Flight of Low-Aspect-Ratio Wings at Low Reynolds Number

This paper examines the application of formation flight to micro air vehicles with regard to possible power savings. Results of an experimental investigation on echelon formations using low-aspect-ratio (AR = 2) flat plate rectangular wings at low Reynolds number (Re 35;000) are presented. One-, two-, and three-wing configurations are tested in a low-speed wind tunnel. To quantify the power savings by lift enhancement and drag reduction, the aerodynamic loads acting on each wing are measured using specific balances while the trailing wings of the formation are being traversed laterally and vertically in fine steps. In addition, the flowfields of the wing wakes are measured using particle Image velocimetry. The force and flowfield measurements show that the optimal positions for lift enhancement appear at slightly spanwise overlapping between the leading and trailing wings

Volumetric reconstruction of the mean flow around circular cylinders fitted with strakes

The volumetric reconstruction technique presented in this paper employs a two-camera stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV) system in order to reconstruct the mean flow behind a fixed cylinder fitted with helical strakes, which are commonly used to suppress vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). The technique is based on the measurement of velocity fields at equivalent adjacent planes that results in pseudo volumetric fields. The main advantage over proper volumetric techniques is the avoidance of additional equipment and complexity. The averaged velocity fields behind the straked cylinders and the geometrical periodicity of the three-start configuration are used to further simplify the reconstruction process. Two straked cylindrical models with the same pitch (p = 10d) and two different heights (h = 0.1 and 0.2d) are tested. The reconstructed flow shows that the strakes introduce in the wake flow a well-defined wavelength of one-third of the pitch. Measurements of hydrodynamic forces, fluctuating velocity, vortex formation length, and vortex shedding frequency show the interdependence of the wake parameters. The vortex formation length is increased by the strakes, which is an important effect for the suppression of vortex-induced vibrations. The results presented complement previous investigations concerning the effectiveness of strakes as VIV suppressors and provide a basis of comparison to numerical simulations.FINEP-CTPetroCNPqPetrobrasFAPES

Experimental investigation of flow-induced vibration on isolated and tandem circular cylinders fitted with strakes

The effect of varying the geometric parameters of helical strakes on vortex-induced vibration (VIV) is investigated in this paper. The degree of oscillation attenuation or even suppression is analysed for isolated circular cylinder cases. How a cylinder fitted with strakes behaves when immersed in the wake of another cylinder in tandem arrangement is also investigated and these results are compared to those with a single straked cylinder. The experimental tests are conducted at a circulating water channel facility and the cylindrical models are mounted on a low-damping air bearing elastic base with one degree-of-freedom, restricted to oscillate in the transverse direction to the channel flow. Three strake pitches (p) and heights (h) are tested: p = 5, 10, 15d, and h = 0.1, 0.2, 0.25d. The mass ratio is 1.8 for all models. The Reynolds number range is from 1000 to 10000, and the reduced velocity varies up to 21. The cases with h = 0.1d strakes reduce the amplitude response when compared to the isolated plain cylinder, however the oscillation still persists. On the other hand, the cases with h = 0.2, 0.25d strakes almost completely suppress VIV. Spanwise vorticity fields, obtained through stereoscopic digital particle image velocimetry (SDPIV), show an alternating vortex wake for the p = 10d and h = 0.1d straked cylinder. The p = 10d and h = 0.2d cylinder wake has separated shear layers with constant width and no roll-up close to the body. The strakes do not increase the magnitude of the out-of-plane velocity compared to the isolated plain cylinder. However, they deflect the flow in the out-of-plane direction in a controlled way, which can prevent the vortex shedding correlation along the span. In order to investigate the wake interference effect on the strake efficiency, an experimental arrangement with two cylinders in tandem is employed. The centre-to-centre distance for the tandem arrangement varies from 2 to 6. When the downstream p = 10d and h = 0.2d cylinder is immersed in the wake of an upstream fixed plain cylinder, it loses its effectiveness compared with the isolated case. Although the oscillations have significant amplitude, they are limited, which is a different behaviour from that of a tandem configuration with two plain cylinders. For this particular case, the amplitude response monotonically increases for all gaps, except one, a trait usually found in galloping-like oscillations. SDPIV results for the tandem arrangements show alternating vortex shedding and oscillatory wake. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.BZGFINEP-CTPetroCNPqPetrobrasFAPES

Three-Dimensional Flow Field Investigations on Pitching Low Aspect Ratio Wings at Low Reynolds Numbers

Three-dimensional, unsteady flow fields of a pitching low aspect ratio wing were measured by tomographic PIV [6] in air. The analysis of the vortex dominated flow field provides a deeper understanding of vortex interaction and three-dimensionality of the low Reynolds number (Re ≈ 10,000) flow. In order to recover the complete flow field the measurement set-up was designed to be traversable. A high spatial resolution and a large volume thickness could be achieved by a set of high sensitive sCMOS cameras. A specific feature of this campaign was to locate the measurement domain directly above the flat-plate-wing surface. Evaluation of the measurement data is performed by DLR in-house software. A selection of measurement results of this highly complex flow is presented in this paper