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The role of the separation point in streamwise vortex-induced vibrations

Cagney, N; Balabani, S; (2019) The role of the separation point in streamwise vortex-induced vibrations. Journal of Fluids and Structures , 86 pp. 316-328. 10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2019.02.020. Green open access

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Abstract

Structures in crossflow are susceptible to vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) when the vortex-shedding becomes synchronised with the structural vibration. Strategies to control VIV often include modifying the separation point on the cylinder surface, such as adding helical strakes, although there remains disagreement regarding the mechanism by which these work. We explore the role of the separation point on VIV acting in the streamwise (drag) direction, by performing high-speed Particle-Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the wake and the structural displacement of a range of cylinders with different cross-sectional shapes, including circular (no fixed separation points), equilateral triangles (fixed separation points) and elliptical cylinders (which act as an intermediate case). None of the non-circular cylinders are found to exhibit VIV, despite having approximately the same experimental conditions (mass ratio, structural damping, Reynolds number range, etc.) as the circular cylinders, which undergo VIV. The phase-averaged PIV measurements of the near wake of the circular cylinder are used to calculate the separation angle throughout the shedding cycle for different wake modes, and it is shown that all the wake modes that are associated with VIV require a periodic movement of the separation point. In contrast, the variation in the separation angle was negligible for the von Kármán vortex street observed behind near-stationary circular cylinders and for all non-circular cylinders. The experiments illustrate the great sensitivity of the wake mode and streamwise VIV to modifications of the separation point and demonstrate that even a moderately elliptical cylinder (major to minor axis ratio of 1.54) is sufficient to completely suppress VIV.

Type: Article
Title: The role of the separation point in streamwise vortex-induced vibrations
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2019.02.020
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2019.02.02...
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10072158
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