Interference Between Two Stationary or Elastically Supported Rigid Circular Cylinders of Unequal Diameters in Tandem and Staggered Arrangements

Abstract

Analysis of model test results was carried out to investigate the hydrodynamic interaction between pairs of fixed or elastically supported rigid cylinders of dissimilar diameters in a water flume. The two cylinders are placed with one situated in the wake of the other. The spacing between the cylinders ranges from 1 to 15 times the larger cylinder diameter. The Reynolds numbers are within the subcritical range. For the vibrating cylinders which are free to oscillate in both the in-line and the cross-flow directions, the reduced velocity ranges from 1 to 13 and the low damping ratio of the test setup at 0.006 gives a combined mass-damping parameter of 0.02. For the fixed cylinders, the downstream cylinder experiences a drag reduction and it was found that this drag reduction also depends upon the diameter ratio. The lift on the fixed downstream cylinder has the frequency components derived from the upstream cylinder's vortex shedding as well as from its own vortex shedding, and the relative importance of the two sources is influenced by the spacing between the two cylinders. This is reflected in the downstream cylinder's vortex induced vibration (VIV) response which appears to be dependent upon the actual reduced velocities of both the cylinders.