Experiments with a steel catenary riser model in a towing tank

•Traveling wave behavior identified in the SCR model experiment.•Multiple power-in region verified for the SCR response from experiment.•VIV similarities by comparison of experiment with SCR model and straight cylinder results.

A model test with a steel catenary riser (SCR) was conducted in a towing tank. The main purpose of the experiment was to gain further understanding of the global SCR dynamic behavior with vortex-induced vibration (VIV). To this end, a large model scale factor (250) was considered. The mass and stiffness of the riser model are very low, and the Reynolds number in the experiment ranged from 400 to 600. The experimental results demonstrated the influence of traveling waves on the cross-flow response of the riser model, which was verified by several analytical methods. This study provided important indications that the sources of the traveling waves (power-in regions) seem to change position along the riser length over time. Finally, the experimental design, data processing procedure, experimental set-up, and results are described in detail.