scholarly journals Virtual Spring–Damping System for Flow-Induced Motion Experiments

Author(s):  
Hai Sun ◽  
Eun Soo Kim ◽  
Marinos P. Bernitsas ◽  
Michael M. Bernitsas

Flow-induced motion (FIM) experiments of a single circular cylinder or multiple cylinders in an array involve several configuration and hydrodynamic parameters, such as diameter, mass, damping, stiffness, spacing, Reynolds number, and flow regime, and deviation from circular cross section. Due to the importance of the FIM both in suppression for structural robustness and in enhancement for hydrokinetic energy conversion, systematic experiments are being conducted since the early 1960s and several more decades of experimentation are required. Change of springs and dampers is time consuming and requires frequent recalibration. Emulating springs and dampers with a controller makes parameter change efficient and accurate. There are two approaches to this problem: The first involves the hydrodynamic force in the closed-loop and is easier to implement. The second called virtual damping and spring (Vck) does not involve the hydrodynamic force in the closed-loop but requires an elaborate system identification (SI) process. Vck was developed in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) of the University of Michigan for the first time in 2009 and resulted in extensive data generation. In this paper, the second generation of Vck is developed and validated by comparison of the FIM experiments between a Vck emulated oscillator and an oscillator with physical springs and dampers. The main findings are: (a) the Vck system developed keeps the hydrodynamic force out of the control-loop and, thus, does not bias the FIM, (b) The controller-induced lag is minimal and significantly reduced compared to the first generation of Vck built in the MRELab due to use of an Arduino embedded board to control a servomotor instead of Labview, (c) The SI process revealed a static, third-order, nonlinear viscous model but no need for dynamic terms with memory, and (d) The agreement between real and virtual springs and dampers is excellent in FIM including vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) and galloping measurements over the entire range of spring constants and velocities tested (16,000 < Re < 140,000).

Author(s):  
Hongrae Park ◽  
Michael M. Bernitsas ◽  
Eun Soo Kim

In the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory of the University of Michigan, selectively located surface roughness has been designed successfully to suppress vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of a single cylinder by 60% compared to a smooth cylinder. In this paper, suppression of flow-induced motions of two cylinders in tandem using surface roughness is studied experimentally by varying flow velocity and cylinder center-to-center spacing. Two identical rigid cylinders suspended by springs with their axes perpendicular to the flow are allowed one degree of freedom motion transverse to the flow direction. Surface roughness is applied in the form of four roughness strips helically placed around the cylinder. Results are compared to smooth cylinders also tested in this work. Amplitude ratio A/D, frequency ratio fosc/fn,water, and range of synchronization are measured. Regardless of the center-to-center cylinder distance, the amplitude response of the upstream smooth cylinder is similar to that of an isolated smooth cylinder. The wake from the upstream cylinder with roughness is narrower and longer and has significant influence on the amplitude of the downstream cylinder. The latter is reduced in the initial and upper branches while its range of VIV-synchronization is extended. Galloping is suppressed in both cylinders. In addition, the amplitude of the upstream rough cylinder and its range of synchronization increase with respect to the isolated rough cylinder.


Author(s):  
Omer Kemal Kinaci ◽  
Sami Lakka ◽  
Hai Sun ◽  
Ethan Fassezke ◽  
Michael M. Bernitsas

Vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) are highly nonlinear and it is hard to approach the problem analytically or computationally. Experimental investigation is therefore essential to address the problem and reveal some physical aspects of VIV. Although computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) offers powerful methods to generate solutions, it cannot replace experiments as yet. When used as a supplement to experiments, however, CFD can be an invaluable tool to explore some underlying issues associated with such complicated flows that could otherwise be impossible or very expensive to visualize or measure experimentally. In this paper, VIVs and galloping of a cylinder with selectively distributed surface roughness—termed passive turbulence control (PTC)—are investigated experimentally and computationally. The computational approach is first validated with benchmark experiments on smooth cylinders available in the literature. Then, experiments conducted in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) of the University of Michigan are replicated computationally to visualize the flow and understand the effects of thickness and width of roughness strips placed selectively on the cylinder. The major outcomes of this work are: (a) Thicker PTC initiates earlier galloping but wider PTC does not have a major impact on the response of the cylinder and (b) The amplitude response is restricted in VIV due to the dead fluid zone attached to the cylinder, which is not observed in galloping.


Author(s):  
Hongrae Park ◽  
Michael M. Bernitsas ◽  
Eun Soo Kim

In the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory of the University of Michigan, selectively located surface roughness has been designed successfully to suppress vortex-induced vibrations of a single cylinder by 60% compared to a smooth cylinder. In this paper, suppression of flow-induced motions of two cylinders in tandem using surface roughness is studied experimentally by varying flow velocity and cylinder center-to-center spacing. The two identical cylinders are rigid, suspended by springs, and allowed to move transversely to the flow direction and their own axis. Surface roughness is applied in the form of four roughness strips helically placed around the cylinder. Results are compared to smooth cylinders also tested in this work. Amplitude ratio A/D, frequency ratio fosc/fn,water, and range of synchronization are measured. Regardless of the center-to-center cylinder distance, the amplitude response of the upstream smooth-cylinder is similar to that of the isolated smooth-cylinder. The wake from the upstream cylinder with roughness is narrower and longer and has significant influence on the amplitude of the downstream cylinder. The latter is reduced in the initial and upper branches while its range of VIV-synchronization is extended. In addition the amplitude of the upstream rough cylinder and its range of synchronization increase with respect to the isolated rough cylinder.


1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Susan Borda

In 2018, the Deep Blue Repositories and Research Data Services (DBRRDS) team at the University of Michigan Library began working with the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ) to provide a persistent and sustainable (i.e., non-grant funded, institutionally supported) solution for their part of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) openVertebrate (oVert) initiative. The objective of oVert is to the digitize scientific collections of thousands of vertebrate specimens stored in jars on museum shelves and make the data freely accessible to researchers, students, classrooms, and the general public anywhere in the world. The University of Michigan (U-M) is one of five scanning centers working on oVert and will contribute scans of more than 3,500 specimens from the UMMZ collections (Erickson 2017). In addition to ingesting scans, the project involved developing methods to work around several significant system constraints: Deep Blue Data’s file structure (flat files only, no folders) and the closed use of Specify, UMMZ’s specimen database, for specimen metadata. DBRRDS had to create a completely new workflow for handling batch deposits at regular intervals, develop scripts to reorganize the data (according to a third-party data model) and augment the metadata using a third-party resource, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). This paper will describe the following aspects of the UMMZ CT Scanning Project partnership in greater detail: data generation, metadata requirements, workflows, code development, lessons learned, and next steps.  


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengyu Li ◽  
Christopher C. Bernitsas ◽  
Jing Guo ◽  
Hai Sun

Abstract Flow-induced oscillations/vibrations (FIO/V) of cylinders in tandem can be enhanced by proper in-flow spacing to increase hydrokinetic energy harnessing. In a farm of multiple cylinders in tandem, the effect of interference on harnessing efficiency arises. Three years of systematic experiments in the Marine Renewable Laboratory (MRELab) of the University of Michigan, on an isolated cylinder, and two and three cylinders in tandem have revealed that synergistic FIO can enhance oscillations of cylinders in close proximity. Two cylinders in tandem can harness 2.5–13.5 times the hydrokinetic power of one isolated cylinder. Three cylinders in tandem can harness 3.4–26.4 times the hydrokinetic power of one isolated cylinder. Negative impact on the harnessed energy by multiple cylinders, such as the shielding effect for the downstream cylinder/s, is possible. Specifically for the three-cylinder configuration, at a certain flow speed, the decrease in the power of the middle cylinder can be overcome by adjusting its stiffness and/or damping.


Author(s):  
Hai Sun ◽  
Marinos P. Bernitsas ◽  
Eun Soo Kim ◽  
Michael M. Bernitsas

The research objective of the Marine Renewable Energy Lab (MRELab) is to design multi-cylinder VIVACE Converters and optimize their power output for a broad range of velocities. For a given geometric and mass configuration of a school of cylinders, each point on the power envelope, at a given flow-speed, is a function of the spring constant and damping. Conducting tests with real springs and dampers requires lengthy preparation for each set of experiments. A more efficient way to conduct experiments faster and accurately is developed based on a controller embedded virtual spring-damping system (Vck) that des not include the hydrodynamic force in the closed loop. Each oscillator consists of one Vck, one interchangeable cylinder moving on submerged roller blocks and driven by the fluid flow, and connected to the controller through belts and pulleys. It is designed to achieve the desired static/dynamic friction through the Vck. An Arduino embedded board controls a servomotor with an optical encoder, which enables real-time position/speed measurement. A system identification (SI) methodology is developed making possible to identify the damping model of any oscillator, which is typically much more complicated than the classical linear viscous model. Upon completion of the SI process for an oscillator, the actual nonlinear damping model is subtracted using the controller and leaving the system with zero damping. Then, a mathematically linear damping model is added, thus, resulting in a system with real linear viscous damping. This process enables changing the spring constant and harnessing damping through the controller instantly. Experiments are then conducted with both real spring dampers and Vck to validate the process. All FIM experiments are conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water Channel of the University of Michigan at 16,000<Re<140,000. The main findings are: (a) The Vck system was developed keeping the hydrodynamic force out of the control loop and, thus, not biasing the FIM. (b) The agreement between real and virtual springs and dampers was excellent in FIM measurements over the entire range of spring constants and velocities tested. (c) The lag due to the controller was minimal and significantly reduced compared to the first generation of Vck built in the MRELab.


Author(s):  
Chunhui Ma ◽  
Hai Sun ◽  
Marinos M. Bernitsas

Flow-induced vibrations (FIVs) of two tandem, rigid, circular cylinders with piecewise continuous restoring force are investigated for Reynolds number 24,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000 with damping, and restoring force function as parameters. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIV and increase the hydrokinetic energy captured by the vortex-induced vibration for aquatic clean energy (VIVACE) converter. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, interactions between cylinders, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and discussed. All experiments were conducted in the low-turbulence free-surface water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) the nonlinear-spring converter can harness energy from flows as slow as 0.33 m/s with no upper limit; (2) the nonlinear-spring converter has better performance at initial galloping than its linear-spring counterpart; (3) the FIV response is predominantly periodic for all nonlinear spring functions used; (4) the influence from the upstream cylinder is becoming more dominant as damping increases; (5) optimal power harnessing is achieved by changing the linear viscous damping and tandem spacing L/D; (6) close spacing ratio L/D = 1.57 has a positive impact on the harnessed power in VIV to galloping transition; and (7) the interactions between two cylinders have a positive impact on the upstream cylinder regardless of the spacing and harness damping.


2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 1183-1185

Eric Alden Smith of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington reviews “The Creation of Inequality: How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire”, by Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the creation of inequality and how our prehistoric ancestors set the stage for monarchy, slavery, and empire. Discusses genesis and exodus; Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ""state of nature"; ancestors and enemies; why our ancestors had religion and the arts; inequality without agriculture; agriculture and achieved renown; the ritual buildings of achievement-based societies; the prehistory of the ritual house; prestige and equality in four Native American societies; the rise and fall of hereditary inequality in farming societies; three sources of power in chiefly societies; the move from ritual house to temple in the Americas; aristocracy without chiefs; temples and inequality in early Mesopotamia; the chiefly societies in our backyard; how to turn rank into stratification--tales of the South Pacific; how to create a kingdom; three of the New World's first-generation kingdoms; the land of the ""Scorpion King"; an analysis of two African kingdoms for which both native and European accounts are available; the nursery of civilization; graft and imperialism; how new empires learn from old; and inequality and natural law. Flannery is James B. Griffin Distinguished University Professor of Anthropological Archaeology and Curator in Environmental Archaeology at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. Marcus is Robert L. Carneiro Distinguished University Professor of Social Evolution and Curator in Latin American Archaeology at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.”


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Kemal Kinaci ◽  
Sami Lakka ◽  
Hai Sun ◽  
Michael M. Bernitsas

In the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) of the University of Michigan, Flow Induced Motion (FIM) is studied as a means to convert marine hydrokinetic energy to electricity using the VIVACE energy harvester [1–4]. Turbulence stimulation in the form of sand-strips, referred to as Passive Turbulence Control (PTC), were added to oscillating cylinders in 2008 [5]. PTC enabled VIVACE to harness hydrokinetic energy from currents/tides over the entire range of FIM including VIV and galloping. In 2011, the MRELab produced experimentally the PTC-to-FIM Map defining the induced cylinder motion based on the location of PTC [6]. In 2013, the robustness of the map was tested and dominant zones were identified [7]. Even though the PTC-to-FIM Map has become a powerful tool in inducing specific motions of circular cylinders, several parameters remain unexplored. Experiments, though the ultimate verification tool, are time consuming and hard to provide all needed information. A computational tool that could predict the FIM of a cylinder correctly would be invaluable to study the full parametric design space. A major side-benefit of PTC was the fact that PTC enabled computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations to generate results in good agreement with experiments by forcing the location of the separation point [8]. This valuable tool, along with experiments, is used in this paper to investigate PTC design parameters such as width and thickness and their impact on flow features with the intent of maximizing FIM and, thus, hydrokinetic energy conversion.


Author(s):  
Chunhui Ma ◽  
Hai Sun ◽  
Marinos M. Bernitsas

Flow Induced Motions (FIMs) of two tandem, rigid, circular cylinders with piecewise continuous restoring force are investigated for Reynolds number 24,000≤Re≤120,000 with damping, and restoring force function as parameters. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIM and increase the hydrokinetic energy captured by the VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration for Aquatic Clean Energy) Converter. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, interactions between cylinders, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and discussed. All experiments were conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are: (1) The nonlinear-spring, Converter can harness energy from flows as slow as 0.33 m/s with no upper limit. (2) The nonlinear-spring Converter has better performance at initial galloping than its linear-spring counterpart. (3) The FIM response is predominantly periodic for all nonlinear spring functions used. (4) The influence from the upstream cylinder is becoming more dominant as damping increases. (5) Optimal power harnessing is achieved by changing the linear viscous damping and tandem spacing L/D. (6) Close spacing ratio L/D = 1.57 has a positive impact on the harnessed power in VIV to galloping transition. (7) The interactions between two cylinders have a positive impact on the upstream cylinder regardless of the spacing and harness damping.


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