Three-dimensional numerical investigation of vortex-induced vibration of a rotating circular cylinder in uniform flow

The vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of an elastically mounted rotating circular cylinder vibrating in a uniform flow is studied numerically. The cylinder is allowed to vibrate only in the cross-flow direction. In the numerical simulations, the Reynolds number, the mass ratio, and the damping ratio are kept constants to 500, 11.5, and 0, respectively. Simulations are performed for rotation rates of alpha = 0, 0.5, and 1 and a range of reduced velocities from 1 to 13, which covers the entire lock-in regime. It is found that the lock-in regime of a rotating cylinder is wider than that of a non-rotating cylinder for alpha = 0, 0.5, and 1. The vortex shedding pattern of a rotating cylinder is found to be similar to that of a non-rotating cylinder. Next, simulations are performed for three typical reduced velocities inside the lock-in regime and a range of higher rotation rates from alpha = 1.5 to 3.5 to investigate the effect of the rotation rate on the suppression of VIV. It is found that the VIV is suppressed when the rotation rate exceeds a critical value, which is dependent on the reduced velocity. For a constant reduced velocity, the amplitude of the vibration is found to increase with increasing rotation rate until the latter reaches its critical value for VIV suppression, beyond which the vibration amplitude becomes extremely small. If the rotation rate is greater than its critical value, vortex shedding ceases and hairpin vortices are observed due to the rotation of the cylinder. Published by AIP Publishing.