Simulation of cross-flow-induced vibration of cylinder arrays by surface vorticity method

Abstract

Abstract The surface vorticity method (SVM), which is a fast and practical grid-free two-dimensional (2-D) method, and a fluid–structure interaction model incorporating the effects of cylinder motions and displacements is used to simulate the vortex-induced vibration of cylinder arrays at sub-critical Reynolds number Re = 2.67 × 1 0 4 . The SVM is found to be most suitable for simulating a 2-D cylinder row with large-amplitude vibrations where the vorticity field and the fluid forces of the cylinder row change drastically, and the effect of the stream on the transverse direction vibration is very significant. The fluidelastic instability of a flexible cylinder row at small pitch ratio is also investigated, and the critical reduced velocity of the cylinder row at a reduced damping parameter S G = 1.29 is calculated, which is in good agreement with experimental and analytical results of the unsteady model. Vortex-induced vibration of a staggered cylinder array is simulated using different structural parameters. When the cylinders are relatively more flexible, the flow pattern changes dramatically and the fluid–structure interaction has a dominant impact on the flow field. Compared with grid-based methods, the grid-free SVM is a fast and practical method for the simulation of the FIV of cylinder arrays due to vortex shedding at sub-critical Reynolds numbers.