Selective Surface Roughness to Suppress Flow-Induced Motion of Two Circular Cylinders at 30,000 < Re < 120,000

In the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory of the University of Michigan, selectively located surface roughness has been designed successfully to suppress vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of a single cylinder by 60% compared to a smooth cylinder. In this paper, suppression of flow-induced motions of two cylinders in tandem using surface roughness is studied experimentally by varying flow velocity and cylinder center-to-center spacing. Two identical rigid cylinders suspended by springs with their axes perpendicular to the flow are allowed one degree of freedom motion transverse to the flow direction. Surface roughness is applied in the form of four roughness strips helically placed around the cylinder. Results are compared to smooth cylinders also tested in this work. Amplitude ratio A/D, frequency ratio f_osc/f_n,water, and range of synchronization are measured. Regardless of the center-to-center cylinder distance, the amplitude response of the upstream smooth cylinder is similar to that of an isolated smooth cylinder. The wake from the upstream cylinder with roughness is narrower and longer and has significant influence on the amplitude of the downstream cylinder. The latter is reduced in the initial and upper branches while its range of VIV-synchronization is extended. Galloping is suppressed in both cylinders. In addition, the amplitude of the upstream rough cylinder and its range of synchronization increase with respect to the isolated rough cylinder.