Effects of mass and damping ratios on the flow-induced vibration of two staggered circular cylinders

Abstract

The mass ratio between structure and fluid and the structural damping ratio have been shown to significantly affect the flow-induced vibration (FIV) of an isolated circular cylinder. Their influences on multiple staggered circular cylinders commonly found in offshore structures have, however, not been clearly understood. This study numerically investigates the vibration responses and flow field of two staggered circular cylinders with the shear stress transfer k–ω turbulence model and the overset mesh method. The accuracy of the numerical method adopted is validated against published experimental results, and the effects of the mass ratio and damping ratio on FIV are systematically investigated. The structural responses of the two cylinders are found more sensitive to the mass ratio than the damping ratio. The amplitude of vibration increases, in general, with a reduction in the mass ratio or damping ratio, and the vibration is much more significant when the mass ratio is less or equal to unity as compared to those from other mass ratio values. A reduction in the mass ratio is found leading to more diverse vortex shedding modes with fast transition from one into another. The self-excited dynamic forces represented by the added mass ratio ma* and added damping ratio ζa are further analyzed. It is found that the added mass ratio is positive under low inflow velocity, and it gradually becomes negative with higher inflow velocity. The added damping ratio is generally negative under low inflow velocity and it increases with the inflow velocity. Furthermore, the added damping ratio decreases with the inflow velocity only when the mass ratio is smaller than unity.