Application of Helical Strakes for Suppressing the Flow-Induced Vibration of Two Side-by-Side Long Flexible Cylinders

Helical strakes have been widely applied for suppressing the vibration of flexible cylinders undergoing vortexshedding in offshore engineering. However, most research works have concerned on the application of helical strakes for the isolated flexible cylinder subjected to vortex-induced vibration(VIV). The effectiveness of helical strakes attached to side-by-side flexible cylinders in vibration reduction is still unclear. In this paper, the response characteristics of two side-by-side flexible cylinders with and without helical strakes were experimentally investigated in a towing tank. The configuration of the helical strakes used in the experiment had a pitch of 17.5D and a height of 0.25D(where D is the cylinder diameter), which is usually considered the most effective for VIV suppression of isolated marine risers and tendons. The center-to-center distance of the two cylinders was 3.0D. The uniform flow with a velocity ranging from 0.05 m/s to 1.0 m/s was generated by towing the cylinder models along the tank. Experimental results, including the displacement amplitude, the dominant frequency, the dominant mode,and the mean drag force coefficient, were summarized and discussed. For the case where only one cylinder in the two-cylinder system had helical strakes, the experimental results indicated that helical strakes can remarkably reduce the flow-induced vibration(FIV) of the staked cylinder. For the case of two straked cylinders in a side-by-side arrangement, it was found that the performance of helical strakes in suppressing the FIV is as good as that for the isolated cylinder.     

Use of Helical Strakes for FIV Suppression of Two Inclined Flexible Cylinders in A Side-by-Side Arrangement

The experimental studies on flow-induced vibrations(FIV) reduction of two side-by-side flexible cylinders inclined at 45° by using the helical strakes were carried out in a towing tank. The main aim of the experiment is to check whether the helical strakes with a pitch of 17.5 D and a height of 0.25 D, which is considered as the most effective vibration suppression device for the isolated cylinder undergoing vortex-shedding, still perform very well to reduce FIV of two inclined flexible cylinders in a side-by-side arrangement. The vibration of two identical inclined cylinders with a mass ratio of 1.90 and an aspect ratio of 350 was tested in the experiment. The center-to-center distance between the two cylinders was 3.0 D. The uniform flow was simulated by towing the cylinder models along the tank.The towing velocity varied from 0.05 to 1.0 m/s with an interval of 0.05 m/s. The maximum Reynolds number can be up to 1.6×104. Three cases were experimentally studied in this paper, including two side-by-side inclined smooth cylinders, only one smooth cylinder fitted with helical strakes in the two side-by-side inclined cylinders system and both two cylinders attached with helical strakes. The variations of displacement amplitude, dominant frequency, FIV suppression efficiency and dominant mode for the two side-by-side inclined cylinders with reduced velocity were shown and discussed.     

Passive VIV Reduction of An Inclined Flexible Cylinder by Means of Helical Strakes with Round-Section

A series of experimental tests of passive VIV suppression of an inclined flexible cylinder with round-sectioned helical strakes were carried out in a towing tank. During the tests, the cylinder models fitted with and without helical strakes were towed along the tank. The towing velocity ranged from 0.05 to 1.0 m/s with an interval of 0.05 m/s.Four different yaw angles(a=0°, 15°, 30° and 45°), defined as the angle between the axis of the cylinder and the plane orthogonal of the oncoming flow, were selected in the experiment. The main purpose of present experimental work is to further investigate the VIV suppression effectiveness of round-sectioned helical strakes on the inclined flexible cylinder. The VIV responses of the smooth cylinder and the cylinder with square-sectioned strakes under the same experimental condition were also presented for comparison. The experimental results indicated that the roundsectioned strake basically had a similar effect on VIV suppression compared with the square-sectioned one, and both can significantly reduce the VIV of the vertical cylinder which corresponded to the case of a=0°. But with the increase of yaw angle, the VIV suppression effectiveness of both round-and square-section strakes deteriorated dramatically, the staked cylinder even had a much stronger vibration than the smooth one did in the in-line(IL)direction.     

五圆柱体结构群绕流特性及互扰效应研究

基于Fluent流体计算平台,运用大涡模拟方法对亚临界雷诺数Re=3900下“X”形排列五圆柱体结构群三维绕流特性进行研究,主要分析来流攻角α与间距比L/D两个关键参数对五圆柱体结构群的尾流区三维涡结构演化与流体力系数的影响,并揭示其内在流动互扰机理。研究表明:来流攻角和间距比的变化对五圆柱体结构群流动控制及互扰效应的影响显著。在小间距比工况下,观察到柱体群间隙区域内流体高速流动的现象,导致五圆柱体之间的互扰作用十分强烈。间隙流对中间圆柱体和下游圆柱体有较强的冲击作用,对其表面的流体力分布特性有显著的影响。另外,大间距比工况下,当α=0°与L/D≥5.0工况时,柱体群尾流效应强于其间隙流效应。当α=22.5°与L/D=7.0时,位于下游与中间处的圆柱体流体绕流特性存在较大差异。而当α=45°与L/D≥6.0时,位于上游与中间处的圆柱体尾流区均会产生正负交替的漩涡结构。     

Experimental investigation of the effects of the coverage of helical strakes on the vortex-induced vibration response of a flexible riser

The effects of different helical strake coverage on the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a model flexible riser were studied experimentally, with the aim of further improving the understanding of VIV responses. Uniform and linearly sheared currents were simulated to study response parameters such as non-dimensional displacement, fatigue damage, suppression efficiency, and the comprehensive evaluation is further studied. Test results of the bare model for a uniform current showed that the behavior of both the standing wave and traveling wave dominated VIV displacement. However, for a linearly sheared current, traveling wave behavior dominated VIV displacement in the high-velocity range. The results of the straked model tests indicated that the response was strongly dependent upon the amount of coverage of helical strakes. The flexible riser with 75% strake coverage gave the best comprehensive evaluation in a uniform current, and 50% strake coverage gave the best comprehensive evaluation in a linearly sheared current.     

Flow-Induced Vibration of Four Cantilever Cylinders Arranged in A Square Configuration

Flow-induced vibration (FIV) of four separately mounted cantilever cylinders are experimentally investigated in a water flume. The four cylinders with top ends screwed vertically into a turntable platform are subjected to uniform flows with Reynolds number ranging from 3840 to 16520. A non-intrusive measurement with high-speed cameras is employed to simultaneously capture the time-varying in-line and cross-flow vibrations in the reduced velocity range of 3.0–12.9. Experimental results highlight the continuous adjustment of flow regime caused by the spatial-temporal alteration of cylinders. Consequently, the space-time varying flow interference contributes to the occurrence of multiple response frequencies. The transition from a dominant frequency to a broad-band response illustrates the enhancement of wake interference. The combination of wake flow interactions results in the irregular oscillation trajectories and the appearance of a response trough with the associated switching in vortex shedding mode. The dual-resonance phenomenon is observed in the four cylinders due to the complicated wake-structure interaction. The greatest mechanical energy possessed by the four cylinders in an in-line square arrangement is mainly resulted from the downstream cylinders, signifying the positive role of wake excitation in extracting hydrokinetic energy from ambient flow.

     

VIV response of a long flexible riser fitted with strakes in uniform and linearly sheared currents

An experimental investigation was conducted on a flexible riser with and without various strake arrangements. The aim of the present work was to further improve the understanding of the response performance of the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a riser with helical strakes. Two current profiles, including uniform and linearly sheared flows, were simulated. The uniform current was simulated by towing the riser model in one direction using the towing carriage, and the linearly sheared current was simulated by fixing one end of the riser and using a driven cantilever to traverse a circular arc. Based on the modal superposition method, the displacement responses were obtained from the measured strain. Strakes with different heights and pitches were analysed, and response parameters such as the displacement response and fatigue damage were studied. The results of the bare model test show that the lock-in phenomenon displays multi-order characteristics, and the VIV displacement decreases with an increased order of the lock-in regime. The results of the straked model test indicate that the response characteristics of a bare riser can be quite distinct from those of a riser with helical strakes, and the response performance depends closely on the geometry of the strake configuration.     

Experimental investigation of the forces and motion responses of two interfering VIV circular cylinders at various tandem and staggered positions

Experimental results are presented in the paper of two elastically supported rigid circular cylinders subjected to steady flows in a flume. The two cylinders were initially placed at various tandem and staggered positions with one in the wake of the other when subject to the steady flows. The in-line centre-to-centre distance varied from 2 to 5 diameters whilst the cross-flow distance from 0 to 2 diameters. The nominal Reynolds numbers were in the sub-critical regime and ranged from 1.12 × 10⁴ to 5.52 × 10⁴, and the nominal reduced velocities from 1.78 to 8.77. The damping ratio of the test set-up is low at 0.003 which gives a combined mass-damping parameter of 0.0046. Both the cylinders were free to respond in both the in-line and the cross-flow directions. The cylinder motion was measured simultaneously with the hydrodynamic loading in the two directions. It was found that the motion trajectories of the downstream cylinder show qualitative difference depending upon whether it is in tandem with the upstream cylinder or in the wake with a transverse offset. The VIV response of the downstream cylinder is dependent upon the reduced velocity of the upstream cylinder and its own reduced velocity based upon the actual mean wake velocity. The drag amplification of the downstream cylinder in the wake appears to be fundamentally different from that of a single VIV cylinder in isolation. Furthermore, unlike the two fixed cylinders in cross flow, the downstream cylinder undergoing VIV no longer experiences a marked non-zero mean lift. The upstream cylinder is largely unaffected by the downstream cylinder when the initial spacing is greater than 3 diameters. On the other hand, the motion response of and the fluid loading on the downstream cylinder are strongly influenced by the upstream cylinder in the spacing range tested.     

海洋立管抑振装置优化布置的实验研究

设计1种梯形截面的三螺旋导板抑振装置,在实验室大型水槽进行海洋立管涡激振动实验.通过改变这种抑振装置的覆盖方式和覆盖范围,研究梯形截面螺旋导板的不同覆盖方式和覆盖范围对抑制海洋立管涡激振动的作用.实验时用动态电阻应变仪采集立管模型横向和顺流向的动态响应数据,并利用雨流计数法对模型进行疲劳分析.实验结果表明:在外流流速相同的条件下,三螺旋导板各种覆盖方案对涡激振动都有抑制作用;随着螺旋导板覆盖率的增加,立管的振动减弱,疲劳寿命增加;覆盖螺旋导板的立管顺流向振动频率明显降低,横向振动频率当覆盖率较高时有所降低,覆盖率较低时基本没有变化.     

Response of Two Unequal-Diameter Flexible Cylinders in A Side-by-Side Arrangement: Characteristics of FIV

Till now, little information is available on the flow-induced vibration(FIV) of multiple flexible cylinders with unequal diameters. Some FIV characteristics of unequal-diameter cylinders can be predicted based on the knowledge of equal-diameter cylinders, while there are still other features remaining unrevealed. In this paper, the FIV characteristics of two flexible cylinders with unequal diameters arranged side-by-side are experimentally investigated. The diameter ratio of the small cylinder(Small Cyl.) to the large cylinder(Large Cyl.) is nearly 0.5.The aspect ratios and mass ratios of the two flexible cylinders are 350/181 and 1.90/1.47, respectively. The centre-tocentre spacing ratio in the cross-flow(CF) direction is kept constant as 6.0 and the two cylinders can oscillate freely in both the CF and in-line(IL) directions. The towing velocity varies from 0.05 m/s to 1.00 m/s. The dominant modes and frequencies, CF and IL displacement amplitudes and response trajectories are discussed. Compared with the case of two identical cylinders in our previous study, the FIV responses demonstrate some similarities and differences. The similarities are as follows. Both cylinders exhibit multi-mode vibration features and they interact with each other. Meanwhile, the IL FIV shows a more complex behaviour than that in the CF direction. The difference is that as the diameter of one cylinder is increased, the effect on the smaller cylinder becomes more significant. For Large Cyl., the FIV response is similar to its isolated counterpart, which indicates that Small Cyl. has a negligible effect on the FIV of the larger one. Whereas Large Cyl. perplexes the FIV of Small Cyl. during the vibration process. The spacing would change when both cylinders are oscillating. Proximity interference between the two cylinders and wake shielding effect of the Large Cyl. may occur. The dominant frequencies of Small Cyl. are reduced and the wake-induced flutter of Small Cyl. is observed from the response trajectories at different measuring points.     

The effect of yaw angle on VIV suppression for an inclined flexible cylinder fitted with helical strakes

Experimental studies were carried out to investigate the response features of an inclined flexible bare cylinder as well as a straked cylinder in a towing tank, with the main purpose of further improving the understanding of the effect of yaw angle on vortex-induced vibration (VIV) suppression. Four yaw angles (a = 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°), which is defined as the angle between the cylinder axis and the plane orthogonal to the oncoming fluid flow, were tested. The cylinder model was towed along the tank to generate a uniform fluid flow. The towing velocity was in the range of 0.05–1.0 m/s with an interval of 0.05 m/s. The corresponding Reynolds number ranged from 800 to 16000. The strakes selected for the experiments had a pitch of 17.5D and a height of 0.25D, which is generally considered as the most effective configuration for VIV suppression of a flexible cylinder in water. The experimental results indicate that VIV suppression effectiveness of the inclined flexible straked cylinder is closely related to the yaw angle. The displacement amplitudes are significantly suppressed in both cross-flow (CF) and in-line (IL) directions at a = 0°. However, with increasing yaw angle, the suppression efficiencies of the CF and IL displacement amplitudes gradually decrease. In addition, the CF dominant frequencies of the straked cylinder obviously deviate from those of the bare cylinder at a = 0° and 15°. This deviation is substantially alleviated with increasing yaw angle. The IL dominant frequencies show less dependency on the yaw angle. Similar trends are also observed on the dominant modes of vibration and the mean drag coefficients.     

Flow induced vibrations of a sharp edge square cylinder in the wake of a circular cylinder

The response of an oscillating circular cylinder at the wake of an upstream fixed circular cylinder was classified by different researchers as galloping, wake induced galloping or wake induced vibration. Furthermore it is already known that a sharp edge square cylinder would undergo galloping if it is subjected to uniform flow. In this study the influence of the wake of a fixed circular cylinder on the response of a downstream square cylinder at different spacing ratios (S/D = 4, 8, 11) is experimentally investigated. The subject appears not to have received previous attention. The lateral displacements, lift forces and the pressure data from gauges mounted in the wake of the oscillating cylinder are recorded and analyzed. The single degree of freedom vibrating system has a low mass-damping parameter and the Reynolds number ranges from 7.7 × 10² to 3.7 × 10⁴.In contrast to that for two circular cylinders in tandem arrangement, the freely mounted downstream square cylinder displays a VIV type of response at all spacing ratios tested. There is no sign of galloping or wake induced galloping with the square cylinder. With increase at the spacing ratio the cross-flow oscillations decrease. It is shown that the vortices arriving from the upstream fixed circular cylinder play a major role on the shedding mechanism behind the downstream square cylinder and cause the square cylinder to shed vortices with frequencies above Strouhal frequency of the fixed square cylinder (St = 0.13). The VIV type of oscillations in the downstream square cylinder is most probably caused by the vortices newly generated behind the square cylinder.     

Research on the Influence of Helical Strakes on Dynamic Response of Floating Wind Turbine Platform

The stability of platform structure is the paramount guarantee of the safe operation of the offshore floating wind turbine. The NREL 5MW floating wind turbine is established based on the OC3-Hywind Spar Buoy platform with the supplement of helical strakes for the purpose to analyze the impact of helical strakes on the dynamic response of the floating wind turbine Spar platform. The dynamic response of floating wind turbine Spar platform under wind, wave and current loading from the impact of number, height and pitch ratio of the helical strakes is analysed by the radiation and diffraction theory, the finite element method and orthogonal design method. The result reveals that the helical strakes can effectively inhibit the dynamic response of the platform but enlarge the wave exciting force; the best parameter combination is two pieces of helical strakes with the height of 15%D (D is the diameter of the platform) and the pitch ratio of 5; the height of the helical strake and its pitch ratio have significant influence on pitch response.     

Vibration of two elastically mounted cylinders of different diameters in oscillatory flow

Vibration of two elastically mounted cylinders in an oscillatory flow at a Keulegan-Carpenter number of 10 is simulated numerically. The two cylinders are rigidly connected with each other and are allowed to vibrate in the cross-flow direction only. The aim of this paper is to identify the effects of the orientation of the cylinders and the gap between the cylinders on the vibration. The two-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved to predict the flow and the cylinder vibration is predicted using the equation of motion. When the two cylinders are in a tandem arrangement, a combined single pair flow regime and attached pair flow regime are observed as reduced velocity exceeds 10 and this combined regime and the single pair regime occurs intermittently. Periodic vibration is found when the two cylinders are in a staggered arrangement with a 45° flow attack angle. When the two cylinders are in a side-by-side arrangement, a new single vortex regime is observed. This single vortex remains attached to the cylinder surface and rotates around the cylinder. The intermittent switch between this single vortex regime and the single pair regime are observed.     

Cross-flow vortex-induced vibration reduction of a long flexible cylinder using 3 and 4 control rods with different configurations

Control rod is one of the common passive control methods to suppress the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of cylindrical structures. In this paper, the experimental study is conducted to detailed understand the performance of multiple control rods in suppressing the cross-flow (CF) VIV for a long flexible cylinder. The influence of the spatial arrangement of 3 and 4 control rods on CF VIV response of the main cylinder is investigated in a towing tank. It is observed that the attack angle θ is a very significant parameter to affect the vibration response, dominant frequency and the VIV suppression efficiency of the main cylinder. Based on the suppression efficiencies analysis of VIV response in the present experimental investigation, the spatial arrangement of 3 control rods with θ = 40° and 4 control rods with θ = 30° is the best choice for suppressing the CF VIV response of the main flexible cylinder. Overall, the use of 4 control rods could reduce VIV more effectively than the application of 3 control rods.     

The effect of shroud on vortex shedding mechanism of cylinder

In the present study, flow characteristics were investigated experimentally using particle image velocimetry technique (PIV) in a gap between a solid cylinder and a shroud to reveal the effect of shroud diameter (D_s) and porosity (β) on the vortex shedding mechanism of the cylinder. Porosity (varied from β = 0.3 to 0.7) and diameter ratio (D/D_s = 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) were main parameters examined at a Reynolds number of Re = 5000. For the porosity values of β ≤ 0.5, it is observed that vortex formation of the cylinder occurs only in the gap and shroud produces its own wake flow patterns. Penetrating flow through the shroud extends the shear layers on the both sides of the shroud through the downstream direction and prevents the interaction of shear layers in the near wake region. The diameter ratio and the porosity are impactful on the wake flow patterns in outer region of the shroud since they are determinant of the penetrating flow rate. Force measurements were also performed in the air tunnel in order to reveal the effect of shroud on the drag coefficient of cylinder. It is found that the drag coefficient of the cylinders are reduced significantly by shrouds when compared with that obtained from the bare cylinder case. However, the drag coefficient of the cylinder together with the shroud is higher than the bare cylinder for all cases since the shrouds enlarge the area exposed to the flow.     

Stream-wise and cross-flow vortex induced vibrations of single tapered circular cylinders: An experimental study

Tapered circular cylinders are employed in a variety of ocean engineering applications. While being geometrically simple, this configuration creates a complex flow pattern in the near wake of the structure. Most previous experimental studies on tapered circular cylinders were dealing with stationary cylinders to explore the wake flow field and vortex shedding patterns past the cylinder. Few studies paid attentions to the vortex induced vibration of the tapered cylinders. This paper reports some results from in-water towing-tank experiments on the vortex-excited vibrations of tapered circular cylinders in a uniform flow. Cylinders with different mean diameters (28 and 78 mm), mass ratios (6.1 and 2.27) and tapers (5–20), along with their equivalent uniform cylinders, have been examined. The single degree of freedom vibrating system has a low mass-damping parameter (m*ξ = 0.0084–0.0279). The Reynolds number, based on mean diameter of the cylinders, ranges from 1400 to 70,200. The reduced velocities vary from 1.5 to 22. Effects of variations in the taper and mass ratios on the lock-in range, the reduced response amplitude, the reduced velocity for the peak vibration response and other stream-wise and cross-flow VIV parameters are reported and discussed.     

Experimental Study on Response Performance of VIV of A Flexible Riser with Helical Strakes

Laboratory tests were conducted on a flexible riser with and without helical strakes. The aim of the present work is to further understand the response performance of the vortex induced vibration(VIV) for a riser with helical strakes. The experiment was accomplished in the towing tank and the relative current was simulated by towing a flexible riser in one direction. Based on the modal analysis method, the displacement responses can be obtained by the measured strain. The strakes with different heights are analyzed here, and the response parameters like strain response and displacement response are studied. The experimental results show that the in-line(IL) response is as important as the cross-flow(CF) response, however, many industrial analysis methods usually ignore the IL response due to VIV. The results also indicate that the response characteristics of a bare riser can be quite distinct from that of a riser with helical strakes, and the response performance depends on the geometry on the helical strakes closely. The fatigue damage is further discussed and the results show that the fatigue damage in the CF direction is of the same order as that in the IL direction for the bare riser. However, for the riser with helical strakes, the fatigue damage in the CF direction is much smaller than that in the IL direction.     

Experimental Study on Response Performance of VIV of A Flexible Riser with Helical Strakes

Laboratory tests were conducted on a flexible riser with and without helical strakes. The aim of the present work is to further understand the response performance of the vortex induced vibration (VIV) for a riser with helical strakes. The experiment was accomplished in the towing tank and the relative current was simulated by towing a flexible riser in one direction. Based on the modal analysis method, the displacement responses can be obtained by the measured strain. The strakes with different heights are analyzed here, and the response parameters like strain response and displacement response are studied. The experimental results show that the in-line (IL) response is as important as the cross-flow (CF) response, however, many industrial analysis methods usually ignore the IL response due to VIV. The results also indicate that the response characteristics of a bare riser can be quite distinct from that of a riser with helical strakes, and the response performance depends on the geometry on the helical strakes closely. The fatigue damage is further discussed and the results show that the fatigue damage in the CF direction is of the same order as that in the IL direction for the bare riser. However, for the riser with helical strakes, the fatigue damage in the CF direction is much smaller than that in the IL direction.     

带偏航角串列式两风机复杂尾流场数值模拟

在多风机风电场中,通过主动调节上游风机的偏航角度,抑制上游风机尾流对下游风机的影响,减少风力机机组之间的尾流相互干扰,以达到提高整个风电场效率的目的。采用基于开源平台Open FOAM自主开发的FOWT-UALM-SJTU求解器中风电场求解模块ALMWindFarmFoam,将致动线模型与CFD方法相结合,利用大涡模拟(LES)计算研究当上游风机处于不同偏航角度时,两风机之间的复杂尾流干扰效应。对比分析偏航角度改变时,上下游风机气动功率的输出特性,尾流速度变化以及风机的尾涡结构。数值模拟结果表明:在上下游风机沿流向方向距离保持不变的情况下,随着上游风机偏航角度的变化,上下游风机的尾流干扰现象以及下游风机的入流条件会发生明显改变,并会对下游风机的气动功率输出以及两风机风电场的整体流场产生显著影响。