Simulation of flow induced vibration of a cylinder in an expansion tube

TL;DR

This study uses simulations to analyze the flow-induced vibrations of a cylinder in an expansion tube, revealing different motion modes and vibration behaviors influenced by flow parameters and inflow conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation approach for cylinder vibrations in expansion tubes, exploring parameter effects and inflow variations with FLUENT's Overset function.

Findings

Identified three motion modes: drainage, balance, and vibration.

High-amplitude vibrations occur mainly at Re between 5 and 40.

Sinusoidal inflow causes intense vibrations at specific parameters.

Abstract

In this study, a series of simulations are conducted to investigate the motion of a small cylinder in an expansion tube, focusing on two-dimensional dynamics. These simulations are performed on the FLUENT platform employing the Overset function. The collision between the cylinder and the tube wall is modeled as a positive rigid body collision without losing energy. Two key parameters, the dimensionless gravity (Mg*) and the Reynolds number (Re), were explored within the ranges of 4.9-79.4 and 1-300, respectively. Two types of inflow are considered: the invariable inflow or superimposed a sinusoidal inflow of periodical fluctuation. For invariable inflow, three motion modes (drainage mode, balance mode and vibration mode) are found in the phase diagrams of (Mg*, Re). For an invariable inflow, the high-amplitude vibrations of a cylinder is proved to be widespread in the Reynolds number range from 5 to 40. Additionally, the scenario involving Re =300, Mg* =39.25 with sinusoidal periodic fluctuation incoming flow demonstrated intense vibrations of the cylinder. The behavior of the two-dimensional cylinder can be approximated as a simplified version of a three-dimensional sphere when the spherical motion is disregarded. Our research may help to understand this ancient flow problem.