Vortex Shedding Lock-in on Tapered Poles with Polygonal Cross-Section

Abstract

A study to investigate the effects of taper on vortex shedding coherence on High Mast Lighting Towers (HMLT) with models of eight-, twelve-, and sixteen-sided polygonal cross-section was performed in Purdue’s Boeing Low-Speed Wind Tunnel. Partial tower models were mounted on springs to recreate a flutter phenomenon seen on high mast lighting towers and data was taken using a stationary configuration within the wind tunnel. The model was later oscillated at specified frequencies and amplitudes and the resulting wake and surface pressures were recorded and compared to the stationary cases. The researchers aim to study the characteristics of a “lock-in” phenomenon, that is, a region of pole height where there is a vortex cell with a single shedding frequency, instead of different shedding frequencies for different diameters as Strouhal theory dictates. Results show the existence of vortex cell shedding for clamped models. Using a motor and a forcing cam to recreate the elastic movement of the HMLT in ambient conditions has yielded a specific range of diameters to determine the size of the locked in vortex cells. According to standard Department of Transportation manufacturing standards for tapered HMLT, the lock in distance for small excitations (0.254 cm) would be approximately 305 cm in tower height.