Vortex-induced vibration of a cylinder with nonlinear energy sink (NES) at low Reynolds number

Abstract

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) is a fluid structure interaction phenomena that can lead to the fatigue failure of high-rise structures. To study the basic principles and method of VIV suppression for a cylinder structure, a two-dimensional simulation model using a cylinder with two degrees of freedom in-line and cross-flow directions is presented herewith. A nonlinear energy sink is added to cylinder structures to assess its impact on vibration suppression. As a result, this study aims to investigate the VIV of cylinder under the action of the NES at low Reynolds numbers. The accuracy of the simulation model is verified by the comparison with the experimental results. Particularly, the VIV response is investigated with different mass ratio $$\beta$$ between the NES and cylinder (namely $$\beta$$ of 0.15, 0.2 and 0.3) at Re = 100 in air environment by analyzing the vibration response, phase diagram, time–frequency and vorticity contours of cylinder and NES oscillator. Three distinct function modes of NES for selected mass ratio $$\beta$$ are also observed. The results indicate that the NES can change between resonance capture states, from weak to strong, when the mass ratio $$\beta$$ increases to a defined value. In this case, the main vibration frequency of the cylinder varies over time, and the motion is in the chaotic state. The NES can also effectively reduce the vibration amplitude in both the in-flow and cross-flow directions.