CFD Modelling of Wake-Induced Vibration At Low Reynolds Number

Abstract

Flow-induced vibration is an enthralling phenomenon in the field of engineering. Numerous studies have been conducted on converting flow kinetic energy to electrical energy using the fundamental. Wake-induced vibration is one of the configurations used to optimise the generation of electricity. The results of the study on the effect of the gap between the multiple bluff bodies will provide insight into optimising the energy harvesting process. This study focuses on fluid behaviour and response behind two circular cylinders arranged in tandem when interacting with a fluid flow at low Reynolds numbers ranging from 200 to 1000. The study has been done on several gap lengths between the two cylinders, between 2D and 5D. The study was carried out numerically by using OpenFOAM. At Re = 1000, it is found that the gap length of 2.5D is optimal in terms of producing the highest lift force coefficient on the downstream circular cylinder.