Dynamic interaction for a viscous incompressible flow past a taut cable at moderate reynolds numbers

Abstract

The dynamics of a taut string in a steady viscous fluid flow is treated. The governing equations of motion are formulated in the sense of continuum mechanics. For simplification, an incompressible fluid and a plane vector field of motion are considered. In order to obtain an approximate solution, a decomposition of the state variables into a basic motion and superposed small disturbances is assumed. First, the mean flow past the cable is studied, where the small static deflection of the string is neglected. Then, the linear stability equations are solved. A critical flow velocity is calculated, at which the originally laminar fluid flow and the equilibrium position of the string become unstable. The influence of the flexibility of the string is discussed.