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Abstract: Flow characteristics in the near wake of a circular cylinder located close to a fully developed turbulent boundary layer are investigated experimentally using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter (D) is 1.2×104 and the incident boundary layer thickness (δ) is 0.4D. Detailed velocity and vorticity fields in the wake region (0

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental study of the motions, drag force and vortex shedding patterns of an elastically mounted circular cylinder, which is held at various heights above a plane wall and is subject to vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in the transverse direction. The cylinder is neutrally buoyant with a mass ratio and has a low damping ratio ζ=0.0173. Effects of the gap ratio (S/D) ranged from 0.05 to 2.5 and the free-stream velocity (U) ranged from 0.15 to 0.65m/s (corresponding to 3000≤Re≤13 000, and 1.53≤ ≤6.62) are examined. The flow around the cylinder has been measured using particle image velocimetry (PIV), in conjunction with direct measurements of the dynamic drag force on the cylinder using a piezoelectric load cell. Results of the vibrating cylinder under unbounded (or free-standing) condition, as well as those of a near-wall stationary cylinder at the same gap ratios, are also provided. For the free-standing cylinder, the transition from the initial branch to the upper branch is characterized by a switch of vortex pattern from the classical 2S mode to the newly-discovered 2PO mode by Morse and Williamson (2009). The nearby wall not only affects the amplitude and frequency of vibration, but also leads to non-linearities in the cylinder response as evidenced by the presence of super-harmonics in the drag force spectrum. In contrast to the case of a stationary cylinder that vortex shedding is suppressed below a critical gap ratio (S/D≈0.3), the elastically mounted cylinder always vibrates even at the smallest gap ratio S/D=0.05. Due to the proximity of the plane wall, the vortices shed from the vibrating cylinder that would otherwise be in a double-sided vortex street pattern (either 2S or 2PO mode) under free-standing condition are arranged into a single-sided pattern. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental study of the motions, forces and flow patterns of a positively buoyant tethered cylinder (m ⁎<1) in uniform flow undergoing vortex-induced vibration (VIV). The flow fields have been measured using digital Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique, in conjunction with a piezoelectric load cell for direct measurement of drag and lift forces acting on the tethered cylinder. The effects of varying mass ratio and Reynolds number over the range 0.61≤m ⁎≤0.92 and 4000≤Re≤12 000 are examined. Results of a fixed (or stationary) cylinder at the same Reynolds numbers are provided to serve as the benchmark reference. The peak amplitude of oscillation, , generally increases with Re and deceases with m ⁎. Similar to previous studies, the results reveal the existence of a critical mass ratio , below which large-amplitude oscillations would take place when Re is high enough, with the largest peak amplitude of observed for the case of m ⁎=0.61 and Re=12 000. Thus two distinct states of oscillation are categorized, namely, the small- and large-amplitude oscillation states. The distinction between the two states is also vivid in the mean and root-mean-square (r.m.s.) force coefficients (including , and ). The frequency of vortex shedding (f V) from the tethered cylinder is always synchronized with the cylinder''s oscillation frequency (f osc), regardless of the oscillation state. A time series of instantaneous vorticity fields illustrate that vortex shedding from the tethered cylinder undergoing VIV maintains the 2S mode, but at an inclined angle to the free stream, which is most obvious in the large-amplitude oscillation state. This leads to an asymmetry in the shear layers separated from opposite sides of the cylinder, as shown by the distribution of ensemble-averaged Reynolds stress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents an experimental study of the flow around four circular cylinders arranged in a square configuration. The Reynolds number was fixed at Re=8000, the pitch-to-diameter ratio between adjacent cylinders was varied from P/D=2 to 5 and the incidence angle was changed from α=0° (in-line square configuration) to 45° (diamond configuration) at an interval of 7.5°. The flow field was measured using digital Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to examine the vortex shedding characteristics of the cylinders, together with direct measurement of fluid dynamic forces (lift and drag) on each cylinder using a piezoelectric load cell. Depending on the pitch ratio, the flow could be broadly classified as shielding regime (P/D≤2), shear layer reattachment regime (2.5≤P/D≤3.5) and vortex impinging regime (P/D≥4). However, this classification is valid only in the case that the cylinder array is arranged nearly in-line with the free stream (α≈0°), because the flow is also sensitive to α. As α increases from 0° to 45°, each cylinder experiences a transition of vortex shedding pattern from a one-frequency mode to a two-frequency mode. The flow interference among the cylinders is complicated, which could be non-synchronous, quasi-periodic or synchronized with a definite phase relationship with other cylinders depending on the combined value of α and P/D. The change in vortex pattern is also reflected by some integral parameters of the flow such as force coefficients, power spectra and Strouhal numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]