Low Turbulence Free Surface Water Research Articles

Hydrokinetic energy harvesting from slow currents using flow-induced oscillations

To harness marine hydrokinetic energy from slow flows, which constitute the majority of currents, tides, and rivers, new Passive Turbulence Control (PTC), consisting of large turbulence stimulators, is tested experimentally on circular cylinders on springs. This study experimentally investigates the effect of PTC on the onset of Flow-Induced Oscillations (FIO) and particularly the relative onset of Vortex-Induced Vibrations (VIV) and galloping. Experiments are conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water Channel, University of Michigan. Fixed are: mass ratio m* = 1.48, aspect ratio l/D = 10.29, and total damping ratio ζ = 0.04. Parameters are: cylinder diameter D, spring stiffness K, PTC location and height, and flow speed U∈[0.36 m/s-1.45 m/s]. Placing the leading edge of PTC at 40–60° induces high amplitude FIO while placement at 10–20° suppresses FIO. As PTC height increases, VIV and galloping initiate earlier and exhibit higher amplitude with a steeper slope. Lower spring stiffness initiates VIV earlier by reducing the oscillator natural frequency in water. Even though large PTC maintained its effectiveness in initiating galloping early, it has no effect on the earlier initiation of VIV, which starts at a nearly fixed reduced velocity. Lower spring stiffness and large PTC enable power generation at low current speed (0.2 m/s).

Hydrokinetic Power Conversion Using Vortex-Induced Oscillation with Cubic Restoring Force

A cubic-spring restoring function with high-deformation stiffening is introduced to passively improve the harnessed marine hydrokinetic power by using flow-induced oscillations/vibrations (FIO/V) of a cylinder. In these FIO/V experiments, a smooth, rigid, single-cylinder on elastic end-supports is tested at Reynolds numbers ranging from 24,000 < Re < 120,000. The parameters of the tested current energy converter (CEC) are cubic stiffness and linear damping. Using the second generation of digital virtual spring-damping (Vck) controller developed by the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab), the cubic modeling of the oscillator stiffness is tested. Experimental results show the influence of the parameter variation on the amplitude, frequency, energy conversion, energy efficiency, and power of the converter. All experiments are conducted in the low turbulence-free surface water (LTFSW) channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are: (1) The nonlinearity in the cubic oscillator is an effective way to extend the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) upper branch, which results in higher harnessing power and efficiency compared to the linear stiffness cylinder converter. (2) Compared to the linear converter, the overall power increase is substantial. The nonlinear power optimum, occurring at the end of the VIV upper branch, is 63% higher than its linear counterpart. (3) The cubic stiffness converter with low harnessing damping achieves consistently good performance in all the VIV regions because of the hardening restoring force, especially at higher flow velocity.

Flow-induced vibration of tandem circular cylinders with selective roughness: Effect of spacing, damping and stiffness

Abstract Flow Induced Vibrations (FIV), and particularly Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) and galloping, of two locally rough, rigid, circular cylinders in tandem are studied by varying the stiffness of the supporting springs, the linear viscous damping, and the cylinder spacing. The test parameters are: mass ratio set to 1.34, center-to-center spacing of 1.57, 2.0 and 2.57 diameters; spring-stiffness 400 N/m ∼ 1200 N/m, damping-ratio 0 . 02 ζ 0 . 26 , and Reynolds number 30,000 ⩽ Re ⩽ 120,000, which falls in the TrSL3 flow regime. The virtual spring-damping system Vck developed in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) enables embedded computer controlled change of viscous-damping and spring-stiffness for fast and mathematically correct oscillator realization, without including the hydrodynamic force in the closed control loop. Experimental measurements for the oscillatory response of both cylinders, are studied to reveal the interaction of upstream and downstream cylinders. All the experiments were conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main findings are: (1) In the range of spacing tested, for all the values of K and ζ , the upstream cylinder’s amplitude response is enhanced due to the presence of the downstream cylinder. This effect is very strong in galloping. (2) With the exception of the initial branch of VIV, the downstream cylinder’s amplitude response is also enhanced but with higher standard deviation in two tandem oscillating cylinders. (3) Three oscillation patterns are identified in galloping: In-phase, out-of-phase, and alternating between the two in a given experiment. (4) Four interactive zones are identified.

Hydrokinetic power conversion using Flow Induced Vibrations with cubic restoring force

A nonlinear oscillator, using a cubic-spring restoring function with high-deformation stiffening, is introduced and studied experimentally to improve passively the harnessed marine hydrokinetic power using Flow Induced Vibrations (FIVs) of a cylinder. In this research, the FIV of a single, rigid, circular cylinder on elastic end-supports is tested for Reynolds number 30,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000. Damping, cubic stiffness, and flow-velocity are used as parameters. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIV and increase the hydrokinetic energy converted by the oscillator. The second generation of the digital, virtual spring-damping system Vck, developed in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab), enables embedded computer-controlled change of the functions and values of viscous damping and spring stiffness. Cubic modeling of the oscillator stiffness in parametric form is thus realized and tested. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, energy harvesting, efficiency and instantaneous energy of the converter are presented and discussed. All experiments are conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are: (1) The cubic stiffness function is an effective way to raise the harnessed efficiency over a wider range of flow velocities. (2) At lower flow speed (upper and lower VIV branches), the harnessed power increases as the nonlinearity increases. A strongly nonlinear system exhibits a 100% increase in harnessed energy in this region. (3) At a higher flow speed (galloping), the cubic nonlinearity benefits the harnessed power in two ways because the natural frequency of the oscillator in water (fn,water) depends on the amplitude of oscillation. At low harness damping, the amplitude increases resulting in higher fn,water thus enhancing the harnessed power. At high harness damping, the harnessed power increases regardless of fn,water.

Interactive Flow-Induced Vibrations of Two Staggered, Low Mass-Ratio Cylinders in the TrSL3 Flow Regime (2.5 × 104 < Re < 1.2 × 105): Smooth Cylinders

Flow-induced vibrations (FIVs) of two elastically mounted circular cylinders in staggered arrangement were experimentally investigated. The Reynolds number range for all experiments (2.5 × 104 < Re < 1.2 × 105) was in the transition in shear layer 3 (TrSL3) flow regime. The oscillator parameters selected were: mass ratio m* = 1.343 (ratio of oscillating mass to displaced fluid mass), spring stiffness K = 250 N/m, and damping ratio ζ = 0.02. The experiments were conducted in the low turbulence free surface water (LTFSW) channel in the MRELab of the University of Michigan. A closed-loop, virtual spring–damper system (Vck) was used to facilitate quick and accurate parameter setting. Based on the characteristics of the displacement response, five vibration patterns were identified and their corresponding regions in the parametric plane of the in-flow spacing (1.57 < L/D < 4.57) and transverse cylinder spacing (0 < T/D < 2) were defined. The hydrodynamic forces and frequency characteristics of the vibration response are also discussed.

Nonlinear Piecewise Restoring Force in Hydrokinetic Power Conversion Using Flow-Induced Vibrations of Two Tandem Cylinders

Flow-induced vibrations (FIVs) of two tandem, rigid, circular cylinders with piecewise continuous restoring force are investigated for Reynolds number 24,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000 with damping, and restoring force function as parameters. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIV and increase the hydrokinetic energy captured by the vortex-induced vibration for aquatic clean energy (VIVACE) converter. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, interactions between cylinders, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and discussed. All experiments were conducted in the low-turbulence free-surface water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) the nonlinear-spring converter can harness energy from flows as slow as 0.33 m/s with no upper limit; (2) the nonlinear-spring converter has better performance at initial galloping than its linear-spring counterpart; (3) the FIV response is predominantly periodic for all nonlinear spring functions used; (4) the influence from the upstream cylinder is becoming more dominant as damping increases; (5) optimal power harnessing is achieved by changing the linear viscous damping and tandem spacing L/D; (6) close spacing ratio L/D = 1.57 has a positive impact on the harnessed power in VIV to galloping transition; and (7) the interactions between two cylinders have a positive impact on the upstream cylinder regardless of the spacing and harness damping.

Hydrokinetic power conversion using Flow Induced Vibrations with nonlinear (adaptive piecewise-linear) springs

A design, adaptive to the flow velocity, is developed for a hydrokinetic energy converter based on an oscillator undergoing Flow Induced Vibrations (FIVs); primarily Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) and galloping. This Alternating-Lift Technology implements a nonlinear spring to passively optimize the oscillator. The FIV of a single, rigid, circular cylinder, with distributed surface roughness, suspended on end-springs with piecewise linear continuous restoring force, are studied for Reynolds number 24,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000. Linear viscous damping for energy harnessing and different piecewise linear spring functions are used as parameters. The harnessed power envelope is established based on the results of linear spring stiffness and two nonlinear piecewise stiffness functions. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIV and increase the hydrokinetic energy captured by the converter at higher Reynolds numbers. The second generation of a virtual spring-damping system (Vck), developed in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab), enables embedded, real-time, computer-controlled change of viscous damping and spring stiffness for fast implementation of oscillator particulars. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and discussed. All experiments are conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are: (1) Each nonlinear, piecewise-linear, stiffness function has its own merits in power harnessing; the differences lie in the FIV characteristics of the different regions of the flow. (2) The nonlinear spring converter can harness energy from flows as low as 0.275 m/s with no upper limit. (3) The new adaptive function exhibits higher harnessed power in the upper VIV branch, transition from VIV to galloping, and fully developed galloping regions. (4) The FIV response is predominantly periodic for all nonlinear spring functions used. (5) Optimal power harnessing is achieved by changing the nonlinear piecewise spring function and the linear viscous damping. (6) The optimally harnessed power envelope is established according to the experimental results of the linear and nonlinear stiffness springs; four performance zones are established based on FIV.

Sensitivity to Zone Covering of the Map of Passive Turbulence Control to Flow-Induced Motions for a Circular Cylinder at 30,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000

Passive turbulence control (PTC) in the form of two straight roughness strips with variable width, and thickness about equal to the boundary layer thickness, is used to modify the flow-induced motions (FIM) of a rigid circular cylinder. The cylinder is supported by two end springs and the flow is in the TrSL3, high-lift, regime. The PTC-to-FIM Map, developed in the previous work, revealed zones of weak suppression (WS), strong suppression (SS), hard galloping (HG), and soft galloping (SG). In this paper, the sensitivity of the PTC-to-FIM map to: (a) the width of PTC covering, (b) PTC covering a single or multiple zones, and (c) PTC being straight or staggered is studied experimentally. Experiments are conducted in the low turbulence free surface water channel of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Fixed parameters are: cylinder diameter D = 8.89 cm, m* = 1.725, spring stiffness K = 763 N/m, aspect ratio l/D = 10.29, and damping ratio ζ = 0.019. Variable parameters are circumferential PTC location αPTC∈ (0–180 deg), Reynolds number Re ∈ (30,000–120,000), flow velocity U∈ (0.36–1.45 m/s). Measured quantities are amplitude ratio A/D, frequency ratio fosc/fn,w, and synchronization range. As long as the roughness distribution is limited to remain within a zone, the width of the strips does not affect the FIM response. When multiple zones are covered, the strong suppression zone dominates the FIM.

Hydrokinetic energy conversion by two rough tandem-cylinders in flow induced motions: Effect of spacing and stiffness

Flow Induced Motions (FIMs) of rigid circular cylinders, and particularly VIV (Vortex Induced Vibrations) and galloping, are induced by alternating lift. The VIVACE (VIV for Aquatic Clean Energy) Converter uses single or multiple cylinders, in tandem, on elastic end-supports, in synergistic FIM, to convert MHK energy to electricity. Selectively distributed surface roughness is applied to enhance FIM and increase efficiency. In this paper, two cylinders are used in tandem with center-to-center spacing of 1.57, 2.0 and 2.57 diameters, harnessing damping ratio 0.00<ζ < 0.24, for Reynolds number 30,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000. The virtual spring-damping system Vck in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) enables embedded computer-controlled change of viscous-damping and spring-stiffness for fast and mathematically correct oscillator realization, without including the hydrodynamic force in the closed control loop. Experimental results for oscillatory response, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and the envelope of optimal power is derived. All the experiments were conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are: (1) For the tested cylinder spacing, two cylinders harness power is between 2.56 and 13.49 times the power of a single cylinder, the efficiency of two cylinders is between 2.0 and 6.68 of a single cylinder. (2) The MHK power harnessed by the upstream cylinder is increased by up to 100%, affected by the downstream cylinder. (3) The MHK power harnessed by the downstream cylinder and its FIM are affected to a lesser extent by the interaction. (4) VIVACE can harness energy from flows as slow as 0.4 m/s with no upper limit in flow velocity. (5) Close spacing and high spring stiffness yield highest harnessed power. (6) The optimal harnessed power shifts to softer springs as spacing increases.

Nonlinear piecewise restoring force in hydrokinetic power conversion using flow induced motions of single cylinder

Flow Induced Motions (FIMs) of a single, rigid, circular cylinder with piecewise continuous restoring force are investigated for Reynolds number 24,000≤Re≤120,000 with damping, and different piecewise functions as parameters. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIM and increase the hydrokinetic energy captured by the VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration for Aquatic Clean Energy) Converter at higher Reynolds numbers. The second generation of virtual spring-damping system Vck, developed in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab), enables embedded computer-controlled change of viscous-damping and spring-stiffness for fast and precise oscillator modeling. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and discussed. All experiments were conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are: (1) The nonlinear piecewise spring Converter can harness energy from flows as slow as 0.275m/s with no upper limit. (2) In galloping, the nonlinear spring Converter has up to 76% better performance than its linear spring counterpart. (3) The FIM response is predominantly periodic for all nonlinear spring functions used. (4) Optimal power harnessing is achieved by changing the nonlinear piecewise spring function and the linear viscous damping. (5) VIVACE exhibits local maxima in power conversion at the end of the upper branch in VIV and the highest velocity reached in galloping. (6) The efficiency optima though are at the beginning of the VIV initial branch and at the beginning of galloping.

Effect of mass-ratio, damping, and stiffness on optimal hydrokinetic energy conversion of a single, rough cylinder in flow induced motions

Flow Induced Motions (FIMs) of a single, rigid, circular cylinder with end-springs are investigated for Reynolds number 30,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000 with mass ratio, damping, and stiffness as parameters. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIM and increase the hydrokinetic energy captured by the VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration for Aquatic Clean Energy) Converter at higher Reynolds numbers. The second generation of virtual spring-damping system Vck, recently developed in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab), enables embedded computer-controlled change of viscous-damping and spring-stiffness for fast and precise oscillator modeling. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and discussed. All experiments were conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are: (1) The oscillator can harness energy from flows as slow as 0.3946 m/s with no upper limit. (2) Increasing the spring stiffness, shifts the VIV synchronization range to higher flow velocities, resulting in reduced gap between VIV and galloping, where the harnessed power drops. (3) In galloping, the harnessed power increases with the mass ratio. (4) Local optima in energy conversion efficiency appear at the beginning of the VIV upper branch and at the beginning of galloping. (5) Local optima in power appear at the end VIV upper branch and at the beginning of galloping.

Multicylinder Flow-Induced Motions: Enhancement by Passive Turbulence Control at 28,000&lt;Re&lt;120,000

The VIVACE converter was introduced at OMAE2006 as a single, smooth, circular-cylinder module. The hydrodynamics of VIVACE is being improved continuously to achieve higher density in harnessed hydrokinetic power. Intercylinder spacing and passive turbulence control (PTC) through selectively located roughness are effective tools in enhancement of flow induced motions (FIMs) under high damping for power harnessing. Single cylinders harness energy at high density even in 1 knot currents. For downstream cylinders, questions were raised on energy availability and sustainability of high-amplitude FIM. Through PTC and intercylinder spacing, strongly synergetic FIMs of 2/3/4 cylinders are achieved. Two-cylinder smooth/PTC, and three/four-cylinder PTC systems are tested experimentally. Using the “PTC-to-FIM” map developed in previous work at the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab), PTC is applied and cylinder response is measured for inflow center-to-center distance 2D-5D (D = diameter), transverse center-to-center distance 0.5–1.5 D, Re ε [28,000–120,000], m* ε [1.677–1.690], U ε [0.36–1.45 m/s], aspect ratio l/D = 10.29, and m*ζ ε [0.0283–0.0346]. All experiments are conducted in the low turbulence free surface water (LTFSW) channel of MRELab. Amplitude spectra and broad field-of-view (FOV) visualization help reveal complex flow structures and cylinder interference undergoing VIV, interference/ proximity/wake/soft/hard galloping. FIM amplitudes of 2.2–2.8D are achieved for all cylinders in steady flow for all parameter ranges tested.

Selective Roughness in the Boundary Layer to Suppress Flow-Induced Motions of Circular Cylinder at 30,000&lt;Re&lt;120,000

A passive control means to suppress flow-induced motions (FIM) of a rigid circular cylinder in the TrSL3, high-lift, flow regime is formulated and tested experimentally. The developed method uses passive turbulence control (PTC) consisting of selectively located roughness on the cylinder surface with thickness about equal to the boundary layer thickness. The map of “PTC-to-FIM,” developed in previous work, revealed robust zones of weak suppression, strong suppression, hard galloping, and soft galloping. PTC has been used successfully to enhance FIM for hydrokinetic energy harnessing using the VIVACE Converter. PTC also revealed the potential to suppress FIM to various levels. The map is flow-direction dependent. In this paper, the “PTC-to-FIM” map is used to guide development of FIM suppression devices that are flow-direction independent and hardly affect cylinder geometry. Experiments are conducted in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water Channel of the University of Michigan on a rigid, horizontal, circular cylinder, suspended on springs. Amplitude and frequency measurements and broad field-of-view visualization reveal complex flow structures and their relation to suppression. Several PTC designs are tested to understand the effect of PTC roughness, location, coverage, and configuration. Gradual modification of PTC parameters, leads to improved suppression and evolution of a design reducing the VIV synchronization range. Over a wide range of high reduced velocities, VIV is fully suppressed. The maximum amplitude occurring near the system’s natural frequency is reduced by about 63% compared to the maximum amplitude of the smooth cylinder.

High-damping, high-Reynolds VIV tests for energy harnessing using the VIVACE converter

The VIVACE converter enhances VIV to harness horizontal hydrokinetic energy of water flows. High-Reynolds and high-damping are required to operate VIVACE in ocean/river currents. Scarce VIV data exist in that parametric subspace. Tests are performed for Reynolds number 40,000< Re<120,000 and damping 0< ζ<0.16 in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water Channel of the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory at the University of Michigan. Extensive testing was made possible by building a virtual damper-spring apparatus, which has been system identified and verified with real damper-spring tests. Thus, damping and stiffness are adjusted by software rather than hardware. From the VIV tests, the optimal damping for energy harnessing was found for velocity 0.40 m/s< U<1.10 m/s using spring stiffness 400 N/m< k<1800 N/m. Thus, the VIVACE converter power envelope is developed. The following experimental observations are made: (1) In the high-lift TrSL3 and TrBL0 flow regimes, high-amplitude, high-damping VIV is maintained. (2) VIV strongly depends on Reynolds. (3) The amplitude ratio ( A/D) increases with Reynolds number within the upper branch of the VIV synchronization range. (4) In TrSL3/TrBL0, A/D of 1.78 was achieved for a smooth cylinder routinely in low damping. (5) Power density of 98.2 W/m 3 at 1.03 m/s (2 knots) is achieved including space between cylinders.

Virtual damper–spring system for VIV experiments and hydrokinetic energy conversion

A device/system V CK is built to replace the physical damper/springs of the VIVACE Converter with virtual elements. VIVACE harnesses hydrokinetic energy of currents by converting mechanical energy of cylinders in Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) into electricity. V CK enables conducting high number of model tests rapidly as damping/springs are set by software rather than hardware. V CK consists of a cylinder, a belt–pulley transmission, a motor/generator, and a controller. The controller provides a damper–spring force feedback using displacement/velocity measurements, thus introducing no artificial force–displacement phase lag, which biases energy conversion. Damping is nonlinear, particularly away from the system natural frequency, and affects modeling near the VIV synchronization ends. System identification (SI) in air reveals nonlinear viscous damping, static and dynamic friction. Hysteresis, occurring in the zero velocity limit, is modeled by a nonlinear dynamic damping model Linear Autoregression with Nonlinear Static model (LARNOS). SI performed in air is verified using monochromatic excitation in air and VIV tests in water using physical damper and springs. A resistor bank added to the device provides an integrated V CK /Power Take-Off (PTO) system. VIV testing is performed in the Low Turbulence Free Surface Water Channel of the University of Michigan at 40,000< Re<120,000 and damping 0<ζ<0.16.

Effect of Bottom Boundary on VIV for Energy Harnessing at 8×103&lt;Re&lt;1.5×105

The concept of extracting energy from ocean/river currents using vortex induced vibration was introduced at the OMAE2006 Conference. The vortex induced vibration aquatic clean energy (VIVACE) converter, implementing this concept, was designed and model tested; VIV amplitudes of two diameters were achieved for Reynolds numbers around 105 even for currents as slow as 1.6 kn. To harness energy using VIV, high damping was added. VIV amplitude of 1.3 diameters was maintained while extracting energy at a rate of PVIVACE=0.22×0.5×pU3DL at 1.6 kn. Strong dependence of VIV on Reynolds number was proven for the first time due to the range of Reynolds numbers achieved at the Low-Turbulence Free Surface Water (LTFSW) Channel of the University of Michigan. In this paper, proximity of VIVACE cylinders in VIV to a bottom boundary is studied in consideration of its impact on VIV, potential loss of harnessable energy, and effect on soft sediments. VIV tests are performed in the LTFSW Channel spanning the following ranges of parameters: Re∊[8×103–1.5×105], m∗∊[1.0–3.14], U∊[0.35–1.15 m/s], L/D∊[6–36], closest distance to bottom boundary (G/D)∊[4−0.1], and m∗ζ∊[0.14–0.26]. Test results show strong impact for gap to diameter ratio of G/D&lt;3 on VIV, amplitude of VIV, range of synchronization, onset of synchronization, frequency of oscillation, hysteresis at the onset of synchronization, and hysteresis at the end of synchronization.

The VIVACE Converter: Model Tests at High Damping and Reynolds Number Around 105

The vortex induced vibrations for aquatic clean energy (VIVACE) converter is a new concept to generate clean and renewable energy from fluid flows such as those abundant in oceans, rivers, or other water resources. The underlying concepts for design, scaling, and operation of VIVACE were introduced in Bernitsas et al., 2008, “VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibration Aquatic Clean Energy): A New Concept in Generation of Clean and Renewable Energy From Fluid Flow,” ASME J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng., 130(4), p. 041101. In its simplest form, a VIVACE modulo consists of a single rigid cylinder mounted on elastic supports and connected to a power takeoff (PTO) system. The cylinder is placed in a steady unidirectional current and excited in vortex induced vibration (VIV). In this paper, the VIVACE modulo was tested in the Low Turbulence Free-Surface Water Channel of the University of Michigan to demonstrate the concept, generate electricity, measure the power out, and calculate basic benchmarking measures such as energy density. The tests performed were tailored to the particulars of the VIVACE modulo, which dictate that the cylinder operate in VIV under high damping and as high a Reynolds number as possible. At the same time, a broad range of synchronization is required to make VIVACE effective in energy generation in a realistic environment. Due to these requirements, VIV tests have not been performed before in the subspace applicable to the operation of the VIVACE modulo. In the process of extracting fluid kinetic energy and converting it to electricity in the laboratory, for a given set of cylinder-springs-transmission-generator, only the damping used for harnessing electricity was optimized. Even at this early stage of development, for the tested VIVACE modulo, the maximum peak power achieved was Ppeak=0.308×12ρDLL. The corresponding integrated power in that particular test was PVIVACE=0.22×12ρU3DL with theoretical upper limit based on measurements of PUL–VIVACE=0.3663. Such power was achieved at velocity U=0.840m∕s=1.63Kn.