Flow-induced motion (FIM) experiments of a single circular cylinder or multiple cylinders in an array involve several configuration and hydrodynamic parameters, such as diameter, mass, damping, stiffness, spacing, Reynolds number, and flow regime, and deviation from circular cross section. Due to the importance of the FIM both in suppression for structural robustness and in enhancement for hydrokinetic energy conversion, systematic experiments are being conducted since the early 1960s and several more decades of experimentation are required. Change of springs and dampers is time consuming and requires frequent recalibration. Emulating springs and dampers with a controller makes parameter change efficient and accurate. There are two approaches to this problem: The first involves the hydrodynamic force in the closed-loop and is easier to implement. The second called virtual damping and spring (V_ck) does not involve the hydrodynamic force in the closed-loop but requires an elaborate system identification (SI) process. V_ck was developed in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) of the University of Michigan for the first time in 2009 and resulted in extensive data generation. In this paper, the second generation of V_ck is developed and validated by comparison of the FIM experiments between a V_ck emulated oscillator and an oscillator with physical springs and dampers. The main findings are: (a) the V_ck system developed keeps the hydrodynamic force out of the control-loop and, thus, does not bias the FIM, (b) The controller-induced lag is minimal and significantly reduced compared to the first generation of V_ck built in the MRELab due to use of an Arduino embedded board to control a servomotor instead of Labview, (c) The SI process revealed a static, third-order, nonlinear viscous model but no need for dynamic terms with memory, and (d) The agreement between real and virtual springs and dampers is excellent in FIM including vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) and galloping measurements over the entire range of spring constants and velocities tested (16,000 < Re < 140,000).

Flow-induced vibrations (FIV) are conventionally destructive and should be suppressed. Since 2006, the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) of the University of Michigan has been studying FIV of multiple cylinders to enhance their response for harnessing hydrokinetic power from ocean, river, and tidal currents. Interactions between multiple cylinders in FIV enable high power-to-volume ratio in a converter consisting of multiple oscillators. This paper investigates experimentally the relation between oscillation patterns and frequency response of two cylinders in tandem. All experiments are conducted in the recirculating channel of the MRELab for 30,000 < Re < 120,000. Phase analysis reveals three dominant patterns of oscillation of two tandem cylinders by calculating the instantaneous phase difference between the two cylinders. This phase difference characterizes each major pattern. Pattern A is characterized by small lead or lag of one cylinder over the other. In pattern B, there is nearly 180 deg out of phase oscillations between the cylinders. In pattern C, the instantaneous phase difference changes continuously from −180 deg to +180 deg. Using frequency spectra and amplitude response, oscillation characteristics of each cylinder are revealed in vortex-induced vibration (VIV) and galloping. Pattern A occurs mostly in galloping when the first cylinder has higher stiffness. Pattern B occurs seldom and typically in the initial VIV branch and transition from VIV to galloping. Pattern C occurs in the upper and lower VIV branches; and in galloping when the lead cylinder has lower stiffness.

Flow-induced vibrations (FIVs) of two elastically mounted circular cylinders in staggered arrangement were experimentally investigated. The Reynolds number range for all experiments (2.5 × 104 < Re < 1.2 × 105) was in the transition in shear layer 3 (TrSL3) flow regime. The oscillator parameters selected were: mass ratio m* = 1.343 (ratio of oscillating mass to displaced fluid mass), spring stiffness K = 250 N/m, and damping ratio ζ = 0.02. The experiments were conducted in the low turbulence free surface water (LTFSW) channel in the MRELab of the University of Michigan. A closed-loop, virtual spring–damper system (Vck) was used to facilitate quick and accurate parameter setting. Based on the characteristics of the displacement response, five vibration patterns were identified and their corresponding regions in the parametric plane of the in-flow spacing (1.57 < L/D < 4.57) and transverse cylinder spacing (0 < T/D < 2) were defined. The hydrodynamic forces and frequency characteristics of the vibration response are also discussed.

Vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) are highly nonlinear and it is hard to approach the problem analytically or computationally. Experimental investigation is therefore essential to address the problem and reveal some physical aspects of VIV. Although computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) offers powerful methods to generate solutions, it cannot replace experiments as yet. When used as a supplement to experiments, however, CFD can be an invaluable tool to explore some underlying issues associated with such complicated flows that could otherwise be impossible or very expensive to visualize or measure experimentally. In this paper, VIVs and galloping of a cylinder with selectively distributed surface roughness—termed passive turbulence control (PTC)—are investigated experimentally and computationally. The computational approach is first validated with benchmark experiments on smooth cylinders available in the literature. Then, experiments conducted in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) of the University of Michigan are replicated computationally to visualize the flow and understand the effects of thickness and width of roughness strips placed selectively on the cylinder. The major outcomes of this work are: (a) Thicker PTC initiates earlier galloping but wider PTC does not have a major impact on the response of the cylinder and (b) The amplitude response is restricted in VIV due to the dead fluid zone attached to the cylinder, which is not observed in galloping.