scholarly journals U-shaped fairings suppress vortex-induced vibrations for cylinders in cross-flow

2015 ◽  
Vol 782 ◽  
pp. 300-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangfang Xie ◽  
Yue Yu ◽  
Yiannis Constantinides ◽  
Michael S. Triantafyllou ◽  
George Em Karniadakis

We employ three-dimensional direct and large-eddy numerical simulations of the vibrations and flow past cylinders fitted with free-to-rotate U-shaped fairings placed in a cross-flow at Reynolds number $100\leqslant \mathit{Re}\leqslant 10\,000$. Such fairings are nearly neutrally buoyant devices fitted along the axis of long circular risers to suppress vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs). We consider three different geometric configurations: a homogeneous fairing, and two configurations (denoted A and AB) involving a gap between adjacent segments. For the latter two cases, we investigate the effect of the gap on the hydrodynamic force coefficients and the translational and rotational motions of the system. For all configurations, as the Reynolds number increases beyond 500, both the lift and drag coefficients decrease. Compared to a plain cylinder, a homogeneous fairing system (no gaps) can help reduce the drag force coefficient by 15 % for reduced velocity $U^{\ast }=4.65$, while a type A gap system can reduce the drag force coefficient by almost 50 % for reduced velocity $U^{\ast }=3.5,4.65,6$, and, correspondingly, the vibration response of the combined system, as well as the fairing rotation amplitude, are substantially reduced. For a homogeneous fairing, the cross-flow amplitude is reduced by about 80 %, whereas for fairings with a gap longer than half a cylinder diameter, VIVs are completely eliminated, resulting in additional reduction in the drag coefficient. We have related such VIV suppression or elimination to the features of the wake flow structure. We find that a gap causes the generation of strong streamwise vorticity in the gap region that interferes destructively with the vorticity generated by the fairings, hence disorganizing the formation of coherent spanwise cortical patterns. We provide visualization of the incoherent wake flow that leads to total elimination of the vibration and rotation of the fairing–cylinder system. Finally, we investigate the effect of the friction coefficient between cylinder and fairing. The effect overall is small, even when the friction coefficients of adjacent segments are different. In some cases the equilibrium positions of the fairings are rotated by a small angle on either side of the centreline, in a symmetry-breaking bifurcation, which depends strongly on Reynolds number.

Author(s):  
Yoann Jus ◽  
Elisabeth Longatte ◽  
Jean-Camille Chassaing ◽  
Pierre Sagaut

The present work focusses on the numerical study of Vortex-Induced Vibrations (VIV) of an elastically mounted cylinder in a cross flow at moderate Reynolds numbers. Low mass-damping experimental studies show that the dynamic behavior of the cylinder exhibits a three-branch response model, depending on the range of the reduced velocity. However, few numerical simulations deal with accurate computations of the VIV amplitudes at the lock-in upper branch of the bifurcation diagram. In this work, the dynamic response of the cylinder is investigated by means of three-dimensional Large Eddy Simulation (LES). An Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian framework is employed to account for fluid solid interface boundary motion and grid deformation. Numerous numerical simulations are performed at a Reynolds number of 3900 for both no damping and low-mass damping ratio and various reduced velocities. A detailed physical analysis is conducted to show how the present methodology is able to capture the different VIV responses.


Author(s):  
Collin Gaskill ◽  
Jie Wu ◽  
Decao Yin

A newly developed Tri-Helically Grooved drilling riser buoyancy module design was tested in the towing tank of SINTEF Ocean in June 2017. This new design aims to reduce riser drag loading and suppress vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). Objectives of the test program were two-fold: to assess the hydrodynamic performance of the design allowing for validation of previous computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies through empirical measurements, and, to develop a hydrodynamic force coefficient database to be used in numerical simulations to evaluate drilling riser deformation due to drag loading and fatigue lives when subjected to VIV. This paper provides the parameters of the testing program and a discussion of the results from the various testing configurations assessed. Tests were performed using large scale, rigid cylinder test models at Reynolds numbers in the super-critical flow regime, defined as starting at a Reynolds number of Re = 3.5 × 105 – 5.0 × 105 (depending on various literatures) and continuing until Re = 3 × 106. Towing tests, with fixed and freely oscillating test models, were completed with both a bare test cylinder and a test cylinder with the Tri-Helical Groove design. Additional forced motion tests were performed on the helically grooved model to calculate lift and added mass coefficients at various amplitudes and frequencies of oscillation for the generation of a hydrodynamic force coefficient database for VIV prediction software. Significant differences were observed in the hydrodynamic performance of the bare and helically grooved test models considering both in-line (IL) drag and cross-flow (CF) cylinder excitation and oscillation amplitude. For the helically grooved model, measured static drag shows a strong independence from Reynolds number and elimination of the drag crisis region with an average drag coefficient of 0.63. Effective elimination of VIV and subsequent drag amplification was observed at relatively higher reduced velocities, where the bare test model shows a significant dynamic response. A small level of expected response for the helically grooved model was seen across the lower range of reduced velocities. However, disruption of vortex correlation still occurs in this range and non-sinusoidal and highly amplitude-modulated responses were observed.


Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taraprasad Bhowmick ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Michele Iovieno ◽  
Gholamhossein Bagheri ◽  
Eberhard Bodenschatz

The physics of heat and mass transfer from an object in its wake has significant importance in natural phenomena as well as across many engineering applications. Here, we report numerical results on the population density of the spatial distribution of fluid velocity, pressure, scalar concentration, and scalar fluxes of a wake flow past a sphere in the steady wake regime (Reynolds number 25 to 285). Our findings show that the spatial population distributions of the fluid and the transported scalar quantities in the wake follow a Cauchy-Lorentz or Lorentzian trend, indicating a variation in its sample number density inversely proportional to the squared of its magnitude. We observe this universal form of population distribution both in the symmetric wake regime and in the more complex three dimensional wake structure of the steady oblique regime with Reynolds number larger than 225. The population density distribution identifies the increase in dimensionless kinetic energy and scalar fluxes with the increase in Reynolds number, whereas the dimensionless scalar population density shows negligible variation with the Reynolds number. Descriptive statistics in the form of population density distribution of the spatial distribution of the fluid velocity and the transported scalar quantities is important for understanding the transport and local reaction processes in specific regions of the wake, which can be used e.g., for understanding the microphysics of cloud droplets and aerosol interactions, or in the technical flows where droplets interact physically or chemically with the environment.


Author(s):  
Murilo M. Cicolin ◽  
Gustavo R. S. Assi

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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 847 ◽  
pp. 786-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Methma M. Rajamuni ◽  
Mark C. Thompson ◽  
Kerry Hourigan

The effects of transverse rotation on the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a sphere in a uniform flow are investigated numerically. The one degree-of-freedom sphere motion is constrained to the cross-stream direction, with the rotation axis orthogonal to flow and vibration directions. For the current simulations, the Reynolds number of the flow, $Re=UD/\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$, and the mass ratio of the sphere, $m^{\ast }=\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{s}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{f}$, were fixed at 300 and 2.865, respectively, while the reduced velocity of the flow was varied over the range $3.5\leqslant U^{\ast }~(\equiv U/(f_{n}D))\leqslant 11$, where, $U$ is the upstream velocity of the flow, $D$ is the sphere diameter, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$ is the fluid viscosity, $f_{n}$ is the system natural frequency and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{s}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{f}$ are solid and fluid densities, respectively. The effect of sphere rotation on VIV was studied over a wide range of non-dimensional rotation rates: $0\leqslant \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}~(\equiv \unicode[STIX]{x1D714}D/(2U))\leqslant 2.5$, with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$ the angular velocity. The flow satisfied the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations while the coupled sphere motion was modelled by a spring–mass–damper system, under zero damping. For zero rotation, the sphere oscillated symmetrically through its initial position with a maximum amplitude of approximately 0.4 diameters. Under forced rotation, it oscillated about a new time-mean position. Rotation also resulted in a decreased oscillation amplitude and a narrowed synchronisation range. VIV was suppressed completely for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}>1.3$. Within the $U^{\ast }$ synchronisation range for each rotation rate, the drag force coefficient increased while the lift force coefficient decreased from their respective pre-oscillatory values. The increment of the drag force coefficient and the decrement of the lift force coefficient reduced with increasing reduced velocity as well as with increasing rotation rate. In terms of wake dynamics, in the synchronisation range at zero rotation, two equal-strength trails of interlaced hairpin-type vortex loops were formed behind the sphere. Under rotation, the streamwise vorticity trail on the advancing side of the sphere became stronger than the trail in the retreating side, consistent with wake deflection due to the Magnus effect. This symmetry breaking appears to be associated with the reduction in the observed amplitude response and the narrowing of the synchronisation range. In terms of variation with Reynolds number, the sphere oscillation amplitude was found to increase over the range $Re\in [300,1200]$ at $U^{\ast }=6$ for each of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=0.15$, 0.75 and 1.5. The VIV response depends strongly on Reynolds number, with predictions indicating that VIV will persist for higher rotation rates at higher Reynolds numbers.


Author(s):  
Masahiko Shinohara

Numerical simulations are performed to study the formation of a counter-rotating vortex pair (CVP), a dominant flow feature in plumes inclined in a cross-flow. The unsteady three-dimensional flow fields are calculated by a finite difference method using the Boussinesq approximation. A plume rises from an isothermally heated square surface facing upward in air. Calculations show that the CVP originates not from horizontal spanwise vorticity in the velocity boundary layer on the bottom wall around the heated area, but from horizontal streamwise vorticity just above each side of the heated area. When the cross-flow begins after a plume forms a vortex ring in the cap above the heated area in a still environment, the vortex ring does not form a CVP. However, as the cap and the stem of the plume move downwind, a rotation about the streamwise axis appears just above each side edge of the heated area and grows into the CVP. We discuss the effect of entrainment into the stem and cap on the formation of the streamwise rotation that causes the CVP.


Author(s):  
Jamison L. Szwalek ◽  
Carl M. Larsen

In-line vibrations have been noted to have an important contribution to the fatigue of free spanning pipelines. Still, in-line contributions are not usually accounted for in current VIV prediction models. The present study seeks to broaden the current knowledge regarding in-line vibrations by expanding the work of Aronsen (2007) to include possible Reynolds number effects on pure in-line forced, sinusoidal oscillations for four Reynolds numbers ranging from 9,000 to 36,200. Similar tests were performed for pure cross-flow forced motion as well, mostly to confirm findings from previous research. When experimental uncertainties are accounted for, there appears to be little dependence on Reynolds number for all three hydrodynamic coefficients considered: the force in phase with velocity, the force in phase with acceleration, and the mean drag coefficient. However, trends can still be observed for the in-line added mass in the first instability region and for the transition between the two instability regions for in-line oscillations, and also between the low and high cross-flow added mass regimes. For Re = 9,000, the hydrodynamic coefficients do not appear to be stable and can be regarded as highly Reynolds number dependent.


2011 ◽  
Vol 671 ◽  
pp. 207-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. PRASANTH ◽  
V. PREMCHANDRAN ◽  
SANJAY MITTAL

The hysteretic behaviour of a freely vibrating cylinder, near the low-Reynolds-number end of synchronization/lock-in, in the laminar regime is investigated. Computations are carried out using a stabilized finite-element method. The flow remains two-dimensional in this Reynolds number regime. This is verified via comparison of two- and three-dimensional computations. The cylinder is free to undergo crossflow as well as in-line vibrations. The combined effect of mass ratio (1 ≤ m* ≤ 100) and blockage (0.25% ≤ B ≤ 12.5%) is studied in detail. The existence of a critical mass ratio (m*cr = 10.11), below which hysteresis disappears for an unbounded flow situation, is identified. For higher mass ratio the hysteretic behaviour is observed for all blockage. However, the hysteresis loop width is found to vary with B; its variation with m* and B is studied. The concept of critical blockage Bcr is introduced. For B ≤ Bcr the response of the cylinder is virtually the same as that in an unbounded flow domain. The variation of Bcr with m* is investigated. Furthermore, Bcr is found to vary non-monotonically with m* for m* ≤ m*cr and is almost constant for m* ≥ 20. The effect of damping, as well as restricting the cylinder to undergo transverse vibrations only, on the hysteresis behaviour is studied. The transverse-only motion leads to a larger hysteresis loop width compared with the transverse and the in-line motion of the cylinder. An attempt is made to explain this by comparing the results from forced vibrations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 878 ◽  
pp. 875-906
Author(s):  
Adnan Munir ◽  
Ming Zhao ◽  
Helen Wu ◽  
Lin Lu

Flow around a high-speed rotating circular cylinder for $Re\leqslant 500$ is investigated numerically. The Reynolds number is defined as $UD/\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$ with $U$, $D$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$ being the free-stream flow velocity, the diameter of the cylinder and the kinematic viscosity of the fluid, respectively. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a high rotation rate on the wake flow for a range of Reynolds numbers. Simulations are performed for Reynolds numbers of 100, 150, 200, 250 and 500 and a wide range of rotation rates from 1.6 to 6 with an increment of 0.2. Rotation rate is the ratio of the rotational speed of the cylinder surface to the incoming fluid velocity. A systematic study is performed to investigate the effect of rotation rate on the flow transition to different flow regimes. It is found that there is a transition from a two-dimensional vortex shedding mode to no vortex shedding mode when the rotation rate is increased beyond a critical value for Reynolds numbers between 100 and 200. Further increase in rotation rate results in a transition to three-dimensional flow which is characterized by the presence of finger-shaped (FV) vortices that elongate in the wake of the cylinder and very weak ring-shaped vortices (RV) that wrap the surface of the cylinder. The no vortex shedding mode is not observed at Reynolds numbers greater than or equal to 250 since the flow remains three-dimensional. As the rotation rate is increased further, the occurrence frequency and size of the ring-shaped vortices increases and the flow is dominated by RVs. The RVs become bigger in size and the flow becomes chaotic with increasing rotation rate. A detailed analysis of the flow structures shows that the vortices always exist in pairs and the strength of separated shear layers increases with the increase of rotation rate. A map of flow regimes on a plane of Reynolds number and rotation rate is presented.


Author(s):  
Martin D Griffith ◽  
Timothy N Crouch ◽  
David Burton ◽  
John Sheridan ◽  
Nicholas AT Brown ◽  
...  

A method for computing the wake of a pedalling cyclist is detailed and assessed through comparison with experimental studies. The large-scale time-dependent turbulent flow is simulated using the Scale Adaptive Simulation approach based on the Shear Stress Transport Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes model. Importantly, the motion of the legs is modelled by joining the model at the hips and knees and imposing solid body rotation and translation to the lower and upper legs. Rapid distortion of the cyclist geometry during pedalling requires frequent interpolation of the flow solution onto new meshes. The impact of numerical errors, that are inherent to this remeshing technique, on the computed aerodynamic drag force is assessed. The dynamic leg simulation was successful in reproducing the oscillation in the drag force experienced by a rider over the pedalling cycle that results from variations in the large-scale wake flow structure. Aerodynamic drag and streamwise vorticity fields obtained for both static and dynamic leg simulations are compared with similar experimental results across the crank cycle. The new technique presented here for simulating pedalling leg cycling flows offers one pathway for improving the assessment of cycling aerodynamic performance compared to using isolated static leg simulations alone, a practice common in optimising the aerodynamics of cyclists through computational fluid dynamics.


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