The effect of spacing on the flow-induced vibration of one-fixed-one-free tandem cylinders with a rigid splitter plate

Abstract

The fluid-structure interaction mechanism of an assembly system, including a fixed upstream cylinder and a transverse oscillating downstream cylinder with a rigid splitter plate, is numerically studied at a low Reynolds number Re = 150 and mass ratio m* = 10.0. The effect of different spacing ratios (G/D = 1.5, 3.0, 5.0, and 8.0) and reduced velocities (Ur = 1.0–40.0) on the dynamic responses, hydrodynamic characteristics, and wake patterns of the downstream cylinder-plate (DCP) are analyzed in detail. The results show that, depending on the spacing ratios and the reduced velocities, different response regimes can be identified: (a) For G/D = 1.5 and 3.0, the response of the DCP presents a steady flow at low Ur where the oscillation is completely suppressed. As Ur increases, the response regime shifts to vortex-induced vibration (VIV), which is characterized by a wider lock-in bandwidth and a larger peak vibration amplitude than those of the single cylinder-plate body. (b) For G/D = 5.0 and 8.0, the response regimes consist of VIV and galloping. For the former, the upstream vortex shedding leads to a significant increase in the lift force on the DCP, and its frequency is highly synchronized with the oscillation. By contrast, multiple harmonic components of the lift force are observed in the galloping-dominated Ur range. Two prominent peaks can be identified in the power spectra. The lower peak, produced by the reattachment of the separated shear layers, is the main contributor to the oscillation. The higher peak originating from the upstream vortex shedding frequency is out of phase with the oscillation, and its contribution to the oscillation is very small.