Study of Vortex-Shedding-Induced Vibration of a Flexible Splitter Plate Behind a Cylinder

Integrated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational structural dynamics (CSD) simulations of flow over a cylinder with a flexible splitter plate attached to the rear stagnation point, are performed. Flow over a cylinder produces vortex shedding, which causes unsteady pressure and shear stress distributions over a flexible splitter plate. As a result, the flexible splitter plate vibrates with distinct frequencies, which are different from the vortex-shedding frequency and natural frequencies of the plate. A systematic and detailed analysis of the effects of the flexible plate on fluid-structure dynamics and on the drag and lift of the cylinder, is presented.