Numerical Study on a Cylinder Vibrator in the Hydrodynamics of a Wind–Wave Combined Power Generation System under Different Mass Ratios

Abstract

A hydrodynamic wind–wave combined power generation system is a new type of energy device that uses wind and ocean current energy to generate electricity. In this paper, the hydrodynamics of a wind–wave combined power generation system was simulated in Fluent. The fluid–structure coupling simulation of the vortex vibration of the cylindrical oscillator was realized using UDF and dynamic mesh technology. The Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) characteristics of the cylindrical oscillator were analyzed, and the reliability of the numerical simulation method was verified by comparing the amplitude and trajectory of the eddy-excited vibration with the classic experiments of Jauvtis and Williamson. The VIV characteristics of cylindrical oscillators with different mass ratios were studied in terms of vibration response, motion trajectory, and the streamwise equilibrium position. The effect of the mass ratio on the hydrodynamics of a wind–wave combined power generation system was simulated using spring damping, achieving the goal of carrying out preliminary research work simulating the wind–wave combined power generation device. Some useful conclusions were obtained through calculation, which provided data support for the corresponding platform device. This study shows that in cylindrical oscillators with different mass ratios, the overall trend at the same reduced velocity is that the larger the mass ratio, the smaller the crossflow amplitude. The cylindrical oscillators with mass ratios of one and two appear in the upper branch, while cylindrical oscillators with mass ratios of three and four do not appear, and with the increase in the mass ratio, the frequency ratio in the lower branch tends toward one. At the same reduced velocity, the lower the mass ratio, the larger the corresponding downstream equilibrium position, and the higher the energy acquisition efficiency.