Numerical study of vortex-induced vibrations of a flexible cylinder in an oscillatory flow

The vortex-induced vibrations of a flexible cylinder oscillating harmonically in still water have been numerically simulated using a CFD method based on the strip theory. The algorithm PIMPLE in OpenFOAM is adopted to compute the flow field while the small-displacement Bernoulli-Euler bending beam theory is used to model the cylinder. Two ends of the flexible cylinder are forced to oscillate harmonically. The simulation results have been compared with experimental results and further analyzed. Features such as the hysteresis phenomenon and the build-up-lock-in-die-out cycle are observed in the cross-flow vibration. The in-line vibrations consist of three components, the low-frequency oscillation, the first-natural-frequency vibration during the cylinder reversal, and the second-natural-frequency vibration due to vortex shedding. The butterfly-shaped trajectory has been observed. Detailed wavelet analyses of the vibrations have been given at the end.