Orbital flow around a circular cylinder. Part 1. Steady streaming in non-uniform conditions

Abstract

This work is concerned with the source of an important component of nonlinear loading on a horizontal cylinder beneath waves that is not present in conventional diffraction calculations. Earlier measurements (Chaplin 1984b) have suggested that circulation induced by steady streaming around the cylinder may be responsible for loading which in some cases reduces the perceived inertia force by 50%. The present work is aimed at studying the steady streaming around a cylinder in general non-uniform orbital flow, and determining whether in the particular case of wave-induced flow it could be related quantitatively to the loading.The steady outer flow has been obtained numerically for cases where the steady streaming does not have a reversal, and for cases where a weak reversal is compatible with a uniform outer circulation. It is found that the outer circulation is closely related to the mean streaming velocity around the cylinder at the outer edge of the shear-wave layer. Results for conditions corresponding to previous measurements of force on a horizontal cylinder beneath waves suggest that separation, turbulence, transient effects and organized three-dimensional instabilities should also be considered.