A new approach of testing platform for vortex-induced vibration system

• Main Author: Lau, Jason Bik Swang
• Other Authors: Zhong Zhaowei
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Fluid mechanics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/64091
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In the field of fluid-structure interactions, vortex-induced vibration (VIV) is a critical design factor in many engineering situations such as offshore structures and aircrafts. Failure to consider the effects of the vibrations is proven to be catastrophic, as it did in the case of Tacoma Narrow Bridge (1940). However, the recent development has presented the desirable effects of VIV in terms of energy harvesting from the oscillatory interactions, especially in offshore environment where VIV sources are abundant. Hence, the behaviour of VIV structure interests a lot of researchers as this area is still not fully understood. This report will present a new approach of testing platform to facilitate studies of the characteristic of bluff body (cylinder) undergoing VIV in a water tunnel. This is done by examining the simple mass-spring-damper system, except the cylinder is not supported by physical spring. The approach is based on the combination of a physical model and a computational model based on force-feedback controller to apply experimental parameters by changing their values directly in the software instead of changing the mechanical setups such as physical springs. Experiments are carried out to investigate the functionality of the control system. As an early stage of development, the testing platform has shown good prospect for future implementation. Future works and recommendation will be covered in this report.