Experiments on Fluidelastic Instability of Cylinder Clusters in Axial Flow

Abstract

This paper presents a summary of the general behavior of cylinder clusters in axial flow and especially of the fluidelastic instabilities which occur at high flow velocities. Experiments were conducted in a water tunnel with three- and four-cylinder clusters, and the behavior was monitored either optically or by instrumenting one of the cylinders with strain gauges. With increasing flow, the amplitude of small random vibrations of the cylinders increased; simultaneously, the natural frequencies, as a group, decreased, which is in good agreement with theory. The cylinders eventually lost stability by buckling (divergence), and at higher flow by flutter. Agreement between theoretical and experimental critical flow velocities for these fluidelastic instabilities has been found to be good.