Reducing the deleterious effect of Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) in marine risers is an important task for ocean engineers; and many competing factors exist in the design of VIV suppression devices. This thesis explores the experimental minimization of the drag force and the disruption of the vortex formation by utilizing VIV suppression devices. Two series of tests are conducted- both utilizing separate testing designs. The first tests are the flexible cylinder experiments, detailed in Chapter 2, which determine the drag force and vibration amplitude of numerous, original testing configurations. The second series of tests are the rigid cylinder, PIV experiments, detailed in Chapter 3. These rests measure both the drag force on the cylinder and the oscillating component of the lift force, the latter of which is a good indication of vortex formation. The Chapter 3 tests also image the test section wake- providing helpful insight into the physical process of vortex formation. / Contract number: N62271-97-G-0026.

Circular cylinders in cross-flow have been extensively studied in the last century. However, there are still many unsolved problems in this area, one of which is the flow structure around two staggered finite circular cylinders. This thesis mainly focuses on an experimental investigation of the vortex shedding characteristics of two staggered finite circular cylinders of equal diameter in cross-flow. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to measure the vortex shedding frequency at the mid-height of the two cylinders and along the height of the two cylinders. Two identical circular cylinders of aspect ratio AR = 9 were partially immersed in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer, where the boundary layer thickness to cylinder height ratio at the location of the cylinders was δ/H = 0.4. The Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter was Re<i>D</i> = 2.4z_x~104. Centre-to-centre pitch ratios of <i>P/D</i> = 1.125, 1.25, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5 were examined and the incidence angle was incremented in small steps from á = 0° to 180°. For each configuration of the cylinders, the vortex shedding frequency, represented in dimensionless form as the Strouhal number, St, was measured with a single-component hot-wire anemometer. Also, a seven-hole pressure probe was used to measure the time-averaged wake velocity field behind the cylinders at selected configurations in order to get a better understanding of the wake structure.<p>The vortex shedding frequencies measured at the mid-height of the cylinders clearly showed the similarities and differences of vortex shedding between two staggered finite and infinite circular cylinders. The Strouhal number behavior of the two finite circular cylinders is generally similar to that of two infinite circular cylinders, but the values of St for the two finite cylinders were found for most cases to be smaller than the case of the infinite cylinders.<p>The measurements of vortex shedding frequency along the heights of each finite cylinder revealed that, for most incidence angles, the value of the Strouhal number remains constant along the height of the cylinder, but a notable variation in the shape and strength of the vortex shedding peak along the heights of the cylinders is observed. Sharp and strong peaks in the power spectra are measured around the mid-height of the cylinder. Broader and weaker peaks are found both at the base of the cylinder and near the free end. At several particular configurations, the vortex shedding frequency changes along the height of the cylinder, caused by the varying flow pattern in the vertical direction.<p>Wake measurements showed the velocity field behind the two finite circular cylinders arranged in tandem configurations of P/D = 1.125, 2 and 5. The experimental data revealed that the flow structure behind two finite circular cylinders arranged in a tandem configuration is much more complicated than that of the single finite circular cylinder. The downwash flow from the tip of the downstream cylinder is weaker due to the flow interaction between the free ends of two cylinders, and this downwash flow becomes stronger with increasing P/D. A similar trend happens to the vorticity of the tip vortex structures. However, the upwash flow behind the downstream cylinder is not strongly affected by the existence of the upstream cylinder.

Circular cylinders in cross-flow have been extensively studied in the last century. However, there are still many unsolved problems in this area, one of which is the flow structure around two staggered finite circular cylinders. This thesis mainly focuses on an experimental investigation of the vortex shedding characteristics of two staggered finite circular cylinders of equal diameter in cross-flow. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to measure the vortex shedding frequency at the mid-height of the two cylinders and along the height of the two cylinders. Two identical circular cylinders of aspect ratio AR = 9 were partially immersed in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer, where the boundary layer thickness to cylinder height ratio at the location of the cylinders was δ/H = 0.4. The Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter was Re<i>D</i> = 2.4z_x~104. Centre-to-centre pitch ratios of <i>P/D</i> = 1.125, 1.25, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5 were examined and the incidence angle was incremented in small steps from á = 0° to 180°. For each configuration of the cylinders, the vortex shedding frequency, represented in dimensionless form as the Strouhal number, St, was measured with a single-component hot-wire anemometer. Also, a seven-hole pressure probe was used to measure the time-averaged wake velocity field behind the cylinders at selected configurations in order to get a better understanding of the wake structure.<p>The vortex shedding frequencies measured at the mid-height of the cylinders clearly showed the similarities and differences of vortex shedding between two staggered finite and infinite circular cylinders. The Strouhal number behavior of the two finite circular cylinders is generally similar to that of two infinite circular cylinders, but the values of St for the two finite cylinders were found for most cases to be smaller than the case of the infinite cylinders.<p>The measurements of vortex shedding frequency along the heights of each finite cylinder revealed that, for most incidence angles, the value of the Strouhal number remains constant along the height of the cylinder, but a notable variation in the shape and strength of the vortex shedding peak along the heights of the cylinders is observed. Sharp and strong peaks in the power spectra are measured around the mid-height of the cylinder. Broader and weaker peaks are found both at the base of the cylinder and near the free end. At several particular configurations, the vortex shedding frequency changes along the height of the cylinder, caused by the varying flow pattern in the vertical direction.<p>Wake measurements showed the velocity field behind the two finite circular cylinders arranged in tandem configurations of P/D = 1.125, 2 and 5. The experimental data revealed that the flow structure behind two finite circular cylinders arranged in a tandem configuration is much more complicated than that of the single finite circular cylinder. The downwash flow from the tip of the downstream cylinder is weaker due to the flow interaction between the free ends of two cylinders, and this downwash flow becomes stronger with increasing P/D. A similar trend happens to the vorticity of the tip vortex structures. However, the upwash flow behind the downstream cylinder is not strongly affected by the existence of the upstream cylinder.

An experimental study in air has been performed to determine what effect fins have on the flow over circular cylinders. The tubes under investigation included one bare tube and three segmented-finned tubes of different fin densities with the same root diameter as the bare tube. The tests were performed at two Reynolds numbers (2.61 x 104 and 4.98 x 104) and two downstream distances (2.5 & 5 diameters) and involved the use of hotwire anemometry. Measurements of mean and fluctuating velocities were taken across the wake as well as two-point fluctuating velocity correlations. It was discovered that the use of fins can result in significant differences. Fins cause larger mean velocity deficits in the wake profiles and significant shape differences in the total turbulence intensity profiles. Fins also increase the strength of vortex shedding, contrary to what would be expected, and increase the number of harmonic frequency peaks in the frequency spectra as three harmonic peaks were observed for the bare tube, while as many as ten were seen for the densest finned tube. Correlation length measurements, and thus radiated sound intensity, proved to be inconclusive. It was discovered that correlation length changed with angular rotation suggesting that this phenomenon needs to be investigated further before making any comparisons. Based on the differences seen with increased fin density, it is thought that there may be a critical fin density which causes fundamental changes in the cylinder wake. Also, during the course of this investigation, it was concluded that while the use of an effective diameter, De, proved adequate in collapsing the finned tube data, this approximation could be improved. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

An experimental study in air has been performed to determine what effect fins have on the flow over circular cylinders. The tubes under investigation included one bare tube and three segmented-finned tubes of different fin densities with the same root diameter as the bare tube. The tests were performed at two Reynolds numbers (2.61 x 104 and 4.98 x 104) and two downstream distances (2.5 & 5 diameters) and involved the use of hotwire anemometry. Measurements of mean and fluctuating velocities were taken across the wake as well as two-point fluctuating velocity correlations. It was discovered that the use of fins can result in significant differences. Fins cause larger mean velocity deficits in the wake profiles and significant shape differences in the total turbulence intensity profiles. Fins also increase the strength of vortex shedding, contrary to what would be expected, and increase the number of harmonic frequency peaks in the frequency spectra as three harmonic peaks were observed for the bare tube, while as many as ten were seen for the densest finned tube. Correlation length measurements, and thus radiated sound intensity, proved to be inconclusive. It was discovered that correlation length changed with angular rotation suggesting that this phenomenon needs to be investigated further before making any comparisons. Based on the differences seen with increased fin density, it is thought that there may be a critical fin density which causes fundamental changes in the cylinder wake. Also, during the course of this investigation, it was concluded that while the use of an effective diameter, De, proved adequate in collapsing the finned tube data, this approximation could be improved. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-93).

In the study, we confer with the effect of the circular cylinder for various flow fields, and investigate the phenomenon of the vortex shedding and fluid elastic instabilities. First, in the aspect of the vortex shedding, we observe the wake behind the cylinder after varying the locations of orifices on the cylinder and the forms of momentum addition, and the variation of the lift and drag coefficient can be obtained by using the commercial software STAR-CD. In the further study, we make the type of flow field to be a shear flow and build the database of the aerodynamic coefficients in different shear parameter and Reynolds numbers; furthermore, the database is an important basis for us to conjecture the surface force on the cylinder, and analyze the size of oscillations and the orbit that is caused by the shear parameter, mass ratio and damping factor respectively.

Failures of high mast illumination poles (HMIPs) in recent years have raised concerns on the long-term fatigue performance of the poles by various transportation officials around the US. The thesis documents a study sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation focused on the fatigue behavior of in-service HMIP systems. This study is an extension of previous investigations on the fatigue behavior of the poles that have demonstrated that many poles have poor performance and fail in fatigue before the AASHTO category E' limit. Galvanized specimens were also tested and some of them showed evidence of initial cracking, impacting the fatigue performance such that the galvanized poles behaved worse than the uncoated specimens. Ultrasonic Testing (UT) has shown several poles around the state of Texas contain cracks in the welds between the shaft and base plate. To further investigate the performance of the poles in-service, a field study was initiated to measure the wind speed and direction, as well as the corresponding stresses in the pole shaft. This thesis presents results from the field investigation. A data acquisition system was developed to gather wind data and induced stresses. The system was powered by a solar panel and can be remotely accessed via a wireless modem. Data collected throughout the year details the intensity and number of stress cycles experienced by the poles, and could be correlated with the measured wind velocity. Using the field data, more accurate estimates of expected fatigue life for the poles were made. The study provides TxDOT with valuable data on the performance of in-service poles so that the most critical fatigue cases can be identified and proper decisions can be made on the appropriate inspection or repair schedule. / text

Les amplifications optimales d'énergie de structures quasiment alignées dans le sens de l'écoulement sont calculées dans le cas d'un sillage parallèle, d'un sillage synthétique faiblement non-parallèle et du sillage d'un cylindre. Il a été observé que de très grandes amplifications d'énergie peuvent être supportés par ces sillages. L'amplification d' énergie s'accroît avec la longueur d'onde des perturbations en envergure à l'exception du sillage du cylindre pour lequel l'accroissement d'énergie est maximal pour λz ≈ 5 − 7 D. Les structures amplifiées de manière optimale sont les streaks fluctuant dans le sens de l’écoulement. Il est montré que ces streaks sont capables de supprimer complètement l'instabilité absolue d'un sillage parallèle lorsqu'ils sont déclenchés avec une amplitude finie. L'instabilité globale d'un sillage faiblement non-parallèle et celle du sillage d'un cylindre peuvent être complètement supprimées par des streaks d'amplitude modeste. L'énergie de contrôle requise pour stabiliser le sillage est très faible lorsque les perturbations optimales sont utilisées, et il est montré qu'elle est toujours plus faible que celle qui devrait être utilisée pour un contrôle uniforme en envergure (2D). Il est aussi montré que la dépendance du taux de croissance est quadratique et que, par conséquent, les classiques analyses de sensibilité au premier ordre ne permettent pas de prédire la grande efficacité de la technique de contrôle par streaks. La dernière partie de ce travail livre des résultats préliminaires sur l'étude expérimentale du contrôle par streaks dans le cas du sillage turbulent d'un corps 3D. Il est montré que les streaks forcés artificiellement dans la zone d'instabilité absolue de l'écoulement sont capables de modifier la dynamique du sillage. / We compute optimal energy growths leading to streamwise streaks in parallel, weakly non-parallel and the circular cylinder wakes. We find that very large energy amplifications can be sustained by these wakes. The energy amplifications increase with the spanwise wavelength of the perturbations except in the circular cylinder wake where maximum energy growths are reached for λz ≈ 5 − 7 D. The optimally amplified structures are streamwise streaks. When forced with finite amplitudes these streaks are shown, in parallel wakes, to be able to completely suppress the absolute instability. The global instability of the weakly non-parallel and the circular cylinder wakes can be completely suppressed with moderate streaks amplitudes. The energy required to stabilize the wake is much reduced when optimal perturbations are used, and it is shown to be always smaller than the one that would be required if a 2D control was used. It is also shown that the sensitivity of the global mode growth rate is quadratic and that therefore usual first order sensitivity analyses are unable to predict the high efficiency of the control-by-streaks strategy.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering Johannesburg, May 2017 / Flow around flat plates that were uniformly accelerated from rest with acceleration of 13g is analysed with overset mesh from Star CCM+ commercial CFD software. The particular interest is more on the vortices shed from the plate edges. Three 8mm thick plates of the same cross-sectional areas (108mm length equilateral triangular, 71mm length square and 80mm diameter circular) were simulated. The validation of the numerical method was achieved by using laser vapor sheet method to visualize the flow profiles of accelerating circular plate and comparing the CFD and experimental results. The CFD and experimental results were consistent with each other. It was found that when a plate accelerated in air, it displaced air particles out of its way. The shear layers of air separated from the front edges of the plate and rolled around a vortex core forming a primary vortex ring in the plate wake. The size of the primary vortex increased with Reynolds number (Re) that was increasing with time. This was because as Re increased, more fluid particles were displaced from the front face of the plate at a time. More displacement of the fluid particles led to shear layers separating from the plate edges with stronger momentum resulting in larger vortex ring. The shape of the primary vortex depended on the shape of the accelerating plate. For the circular plate, all the points on the front edge being equidistant from the plate centroid, fluid particles were evenly displaced from that separation edge. The result was an axis-symmetric ring of primary vortex around a circular vortex core. The asymmetric plates (triangular and square) did not evenly displace air particles from their edges of separation. The result was an asymmetric vortex ring. More air particles separated from the plate at separation points closest to the plate centroid and led to the largest vortical structure there. That is; the primary vortex ring was largest at the midpoints of the plate edges because they were the closest points of separation from the plate centroid. The size of the primary vortex continuously reduced from the mid-points of the plate edges to the corners. The corners had the smallest primary vortical structure due to being furthest points of separation from the plate centroid. The parts of the vortex ring from the two edges of the plate interacted at the corner connecting those edges. / MT 2017