CFD Applied to the Simulation of the Vibration Phenomenon Due to the Cadenced Shedding of Vortices in a Circular Cylinder

Resumo

The formation of vortex is related to the separation of the boundary layer close to the immersed body,
depending on the pressure distribution. The aeroelastic phenomenon, known as vortex-induced vibration (VIV),
occurs when the shedding frequency of these vortex approaches one of the structures natural frequencies. Its
study is of practical interest in many branches of engineering, such as risers, bridges, and aeronautical profiles.
In this work, the VIV around a circular cylinder was analyzed numerically through CFD (Computational Fluid

Dynamics) simulations. The numerical method is described by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equa-
tions in a Lagrangian-Eulerian framework in a two-dimensional geometric model. In this study, the open-source

OpenFOAM® was used. The numerical experiments were carried out in a cylinder with a unit diameter, with
Reynolds number values of 100, 200, and 400, for reduced velocitys Ur from 1 to 13, and a damping rate ranging

from 0 %≤ ξ ≤5%. The movement of the cylinder is described using a mass-spring-damper system. For the cylin-
der movement, the sixDoFRigidDisplacement solver was used and the solution algorithm for pressure-velocity

coupling was the pimpleFoam. The results of the simulations were consistent when compared to the literature. It
is observed that the damping factor affects the responses of the cylinder, depending on the reduced velocity. It
is also observed that the movement of the cylinder significantly affects the flow field, varying parameters such as
Strouhal, drag coefficient, lift coefficient, and pressure on the studied surfaces. Finally, it was concluded that the
results were satisfactory and that the proposed computational model is a useful tool in solving problems involving
the phenomenon of vortex-induced vibration.