13.

42 Lecture:
Vortex Induced Vibrations
Prof. A. H. Techet
18 March 2004

Classic VIV Catastrophe

If ignored, these vibrations can prove catastrophic to

structures, as they did in the case of the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge in 1940.

Potential Flow

U() = 2U sin
P() = 1/2 U()2 = P + 1/2 U2
Cp = {P() - P }/{1/2 U2}= 1 - 4sin2

Axial Pressure Force

Base
pressure

(i)

(ii)

i) Potential flow:
-/w < < /2
ii) P ~ PB
/2 3/2
(for LAMINAR flow)

Reynolds Number Dependency

Rd < 5
5-15 < Rd < 40
40 < Rd < 150
150 < Rd < 300
Transition to turbulence
300 < Rd < 3*105
3*105 < Rd < 3.5*106
3.5*106 < Rd

Shear layer instability causes

vortex roll-up

Flow speed outside wake is much higher than inside

Vorticity gathers at downcrossing points in upper layer
Vorticity gathers at upcrossings in lower layer
Induced velocities (due to vortices) causes this
perturbation to amplify

Wake Instability

Classical Vortex Shedding

Von Karman Vortex Street

Alternately shed opposite signed vortices

Vortex shedding dictated by

the Strouhal number

St=fsd/U
fs is the shedding frequency, d is diameter and U inflow speed

Additional VIV Parameters

Reynolds Number
UD inertial effects
Re

v
viscous effects
subcritical (Re<105) (laminar boundary)

Reduced Velocity
U
Vrn
fn D
Vortex Shedding Frequency
SU
fs
D
S0.2 for subcritical flow

Strouhal Number vs. Reynolds

Number
St = 0.2

Vortex Shedding Generates

forces on Cylinder
Uo
FL(t)
FD(t)

Both Lift and Drag forces persist

on a cylinder in cross flow. Lift
is perpendicular to the inflow
velocity and drag is parallel.

Due to the alternating vortex wake (Karman street) the

oscillations in lift force occur at the vortex shedding frequency
and oscillations in drag force occur at twice the vortex
shedding frequency.

Vortex Induced Forces

Due to unsteady flow, forces, X(t) and Y(t), vary with time.
Force coefficients:
Cx =

D(t)
1

/2 U d
2

Cy =

L(t)
1

/2 U2 d

Force Time Trace

DRAG
Cx
Avg. Drag 0

LIFT
Cy
Avg. Lift = 0

Alternate Vortex shedding causes

oscillatory forces which induce
structural vibrations
Heave Motion z(t)

z (t ) zo cos t
z&(t ) zo sin t
&
z&
(t ) zo 2 cos t
LIFT = L(t) = Lo cos (st+)

Rigid cylinder is now similar

to a spring-mass system with
a harmonic forcing term.

DRAG = D(t) = Do cos (2st+ )

s = 2 fs

Lock-in
A cylinder is said to be locked in when the frequency of
oscillation is equal to the frequency of vortex shedding. In this
region the largest amplitude oscillations occur.

Shedding
frequency
Natural frequency
of oscillation

v = 2fv = 2St (U/d)

n = m +k m
a

Equation of Cylinder Heave due

to Vortex shedding
& bz& kz L(t )
mz&

z(t)

L(t ) La &
z&
(t ) Lv z&(t )

&
mz&
(t ) bz&(t ) kz (t ) La &
z&
(t ) Lv z&(t )

(m La ) &
z&
(t ) (b Lv ) z&(t ) k{z (t ) 0
1 4 2 4 3 1 42 43
Added mass term

Restoring force
Damping

If Lv > b system is
UNSTABLE

Lift Force on a Cylinder

Lift force is sinusoidal component and residual force. Filtering
the recorded lift data will give the sinusoidal term which can
be subtracted from the total force.
LIFT FORCE: L(t ) Lo cos(t o )

if v

L(t ) Lo cos t cos o Lo sin t sin o

L(t )

Lo cos o
Lo sin o
&
&
z
(
t
)

z&(t )
2
zo
z o

where v is the frequency of vortex shedding

Lift Force Components:

Two components of lift can be analyzed:

Lift in phase with acceleration (added mass):

Lo
M a ( , a) 2 cos o
a

Lift in-phase with velocity:

Total lift:

Lo
Lv
sin o
a

L(t ) M a ( , a ) &
z&
(t ) Lv ( , a ) z&(t )
(a = zo is cylinder heave amplitude)

Total Force:
L(t ) M a ( , a ) &
z&
(t ) Lv ( , a ) z&(t )

d
Cma (, a) &z&(t )
4

dU

Lv

( , a ) z&(t )

If CLv > 0 then the fluid force amplifies the motion

instead of opposing it. This is self-excited
oscillation.
Cma, CLv are dependent on and a.

Coefficient of Lift in Phase with

Velocity
Vortex Induced Vibrations are
SELF LIMITED

In air: air ~ small, zmax ~ 0.2 diameter

In water: water ~ large, zmax ~ 1 diameter

Lift in phase with velocity

Gopalkrishnan (1993)

Amplitude Estimation
Blevins (1990)

/d =~

1.29

/[1+0.43 S ]
G

3.35

_
_
2m
(2
^
^
; fn = fn/fs; m = m + ma*
SG=2 fn2
d2
=

b
2 k(m+ma*)

ma* = V Cma; where Cma = 1.0

Drag Amplification
VIV tends to increase the effective drag coefficient. This increase
has been investigated experimentally.
~
Cd
|Cd|
Gopalkrishnan (1993)

a
= 0.75
d

2
1

0.1

0.2

Mean drag:

Cd = 1.2 + 1.1(a/d)

0.3

fd
U

Fluctuating Drag:

Cd occurs at twice the

shedding frequency.

Single Rigid Cylinder Results

1.0
a)

One-tenth highest
transverse oscillation
amplitude ratio

b)

Mean drag
coefficient

c)

Fluctuating drag
coefficient

d)

Ratio of transverse
oscillation frequency
to natural frequency
of cylinder

1.0

Flexible Cylinders
Mooring lines and towing
cables act in similar fashion
to rigid cylinders except that
their motion is not spanwise
uniform.
t

Tension in the cable must be considered

when determining equations of motion

Flexible Cylinder Motion Trajectories

Long flexible cylinders can move in two directions and

tend to trace a figure-8 motion. The motion is dictated by
the tension in the cable and the speed of towing.

Wake Patterns Behind

Heaving Cylinders
f,A
U
f,A

2S

2P

Shedding patterns in the wake of oscillating

cylinders are distinct and exist for a certain range
of heave frequencies and amplitudes.
The different modes have a great impact on
structural loading.

Transition in Shedding Patterns

Vr = U/fd

f* = fd/U

Williamson and Roshko (1988)

A/d

Formation of 2P shedding pattern

End Force Correlation

Hover, Techet, Triantafyllou (JFM 1998)

Uniform Cylinder

Tapered Cylinder

VIV in the Ocean

Non-uniform currents
effect the spanwise vortex
shedding on a cable or
riser.
The frequency of shedding
can be different along
length.
This leads to cells of
vortex shedding with
some length, lc.

Oscillating Tapered Cylinder

U(x) = Uo

d(x)

Strouhal Number for the tapered

cylinder:

St = fd / U
where d is the average
cylinder diameter.

Spanwise Vortex Shedding from

40:1 Tapered Cylinder

Techet, et al (JFM 1998)

Rd = 400;
St = 0.198; A/d = 0.5

Rd = 1500;
St = 0.198; A/d = 0.5

Rd = 1500;
St = 0.198; A/d = 1.0

No Split: 2P

dmax

dmin

Flow Visualization Reveals:

A Hybrid Shedding Mode
2P pattern results at
the smaller end
2S pattern at the
larger end
This mode is seen to
be repeatable over
multiple cycles
Techet, et al (JFM 1998)

z/d = 7.9

z/d = 22.9

DPIV of Tapered Cylinder Wake

Digital particle image
2S velocimetry (DPIV)
in the horizontal
plane leads to a clear
picture of two distinct
shedding modes along
2P
the cylinder.

Rd = 1500; St = 0.198; A/d = 0.5

Vortex Dislocations, Vortex Splits & Force

Distribution in Flows past Bluff Bodies
D. Lucor & G. E. Karniadakis
Techet, Hover and Triantafyllou (JFM 1998)

Objectives:

Confirm numerically the existence of a stable,

periodic hybrid shedding mode 2S~2P in the
wake of a straight, rigid, oscillating cylinder

Approach:

VORTEX SPLIT

DNS - Similar conditions as the MIT experiment

(Triantafyllou et al.)
Harmonically forced oscillating straight rigid
cylinder in linear shear inflow
Average Reynolds number is 400

Methodology:

NEKTAR-ALE Simulations

Parallel simulations using spectral/hp methods

implemented in the incompressible Navier- Stokes
solver NEKTAR

Principal Investigator:

Results:

Prof. George Em Karniadakis, Division of Applied

Mathematics, Brown University

Existence and periodicity of hybrid mode

confirmed by near wake visualizations and spectral
analysis of flow velocity in the cylinder wake and
of hydrodynamic forces

VIV Suppression
Helical strake
Shroud
Axial slats
Streamlined fairing
Splitter plate
Ribboned cable
Pivoted guiding vane
Spoiler plates

VIV Suppression by Helical Strakes

Helical strakes are a
common VIV suppresion
device.

Oscillating Cylinders
y(t)
d
y(t) = a cos t
.
y(t) = -a sin(t)
Vm = a

Parameters:
Re = Vm d /
b=d

/ T

Reynolds #
Reduced
frequency

KC = Vm T / d

KeuleganCarpenter #

St = fv d / Vm

Strouhal #

Reynolds # vs. KC #
Re = Vm d /

ad

(/d )(
)
a

KC = Vm T / d = 2 a/d

Re = KC * b
b = d2 / T
Also effected by roughness and ambient turbulence

Forced Oscillation in a Current

y(t) = a cos t

= 2 f = 2/ T

Parameters: a/d,
Reduced velocity: Ur = U/fd
Max. Velocity: Vm = U + a cos
Reynolds #: Re = Vm d /
Roughness and ambient turbulence

Wall Proximity
e + d/2
At e/d > 1 the wall effects are reduced.
Cd, Cm increase as e/d < 0.5
Vortex shedding is significantly effected by the wall presence.
In the absence of viscosity these effects are effectively non-existent.

Galloping
Galloping is a result of a wake instability.
Y(t)
.
y(t), y(t)

U
V

.
-y(t)

Resultant velocity is a combination of the

heave velocity and horizontal inflow.
If n << 2 fv then the wake is quasi-static.

Lift Force, Y()

Y(t)
V

Cy =

Y(t)
/2 U2 Ap

Cy

Stable

Unstable

Galloping motion
L(t)
.
z(t), z(t)

U
V

.
-z(t)
b

..

mz + bz + kz = L(t)

..
L(t) = 1/2 U2 a Clv - ma y(t)

Cl (0)
Cl() = Cl(0) +
+ ...

Assuming small angles,

.
z
Cl (0)
~ tan = =
U

V~U

Instability Criterion
..

(m+ma)z + (b + /2 U a
If

b + /2 U a
1

)z + kz = 0

<0
U

Then the motion is unstable!

This is the criterion for galloping.

 is shape dependent
Cl (0)

Shape
1
1

-2.7
1

-3.0

1
4
1

-10
-0.66

Instability:
=

b
Cl (0)
< 1/ U a
2

Critical speed for galloping:

U >

/2 a

Cl (0)

Torsional Galloping

Both torsional and lateral galloping are possible.

FLUTTER occurs when the frequency of the torsional
and lateral vibrations are very close.

Galloping vs. VIV

Galloping is low frequency
Galloping is NOT self-limiting
Once U > Ucritical then the instability occurs
irregardless of frequencies.

References
Blevins, (1990) Flow Induced Vibrations,
Krieger Publishing Co., Florida.