Vortex-induced vibrations of two tandem rigidly coupled circular cylinders with streamwise, transverse, and rotational degrees of freedom

Abstract

This paper numerically investigates the effects of rigid coupling and the vibration degrees of freedom on the vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of two tandem circular cylinders for a spacing ratio L/D = 4 at a Reynolds number of 150. Two (translational vibration) and three (translational and rotational vibration) degrees of freedom (RC-2DOF and RC-3DOF, respectively) cases are considered and compared with the case of two freely vibrating cylinders (FC). The dynamic response characteristics, flow structures, and vortex dynamics are analyzed. The results show that the rigid coupling has a significant effect on VIV. Compared with FC, the maximum transverse amplitude of the downstream cylinder decreases by 30% for RC-2DOF and approximately 15% for RC-3DOF. The lock-in region narrows by 40% for RC-2DOF, while it widens by 80% for RC-3DOF. Reattachment and co-shedding regions are observed for FC and RC-3DOF, whereas only the co-shedding region exists for RC-2DOF. We further explore flow forces and fluid–structure-interaction mechanisms in the lock-in region for RC-3DOF. The rotation of the twin-cylinder system triggers some unique vibration characteristics, such as two transverse amplitude peaks of the upstream cylinder and a prominent streamwise amplitude at Vr = 7–9. The vortex-to-vortex and vortex-to-cylinder interactions are complicated and changeable with reduced velocity for RC-3DOF.