Wall effect on fluid-structure interactions of a tethered bluff body

Wind tunnel experiments have shown an unexplained amplification of the free motion of a tethered bluff body in a small wind tunnel relative to that in a large wind tunnel. The influence of wall proximity on fluid-structure interaction is explored using a compound pendulum motion in the plane orthogonal to a steady freestream with a doublet model for aerodynamic forces. Wall proximity amplifies a purely symmetric single degree of freedom oscillation with the addition of an out-of-phase force. The success of this simple level of simulation enables progress to develop metrics for unsteady wall interference in dynamic testing of tethered bluff bodies.