Nonlinear Piecewise Restoring Force in Hydrokinetic Power Conversion Using Flow-Induced Vibrations of Two Tandem Cylinders

Flow-induced vibrations (FIVs) of two tandem, rigid, circular cylinders with piecewise continuous restoring force are investigated for Reynolds number 24,000 ≤ Re ≤ 120,000 with damping, and restoring force function as parameters. Selective roughness is applied to enhance FIV and increase the hydrokinetic energy captured by the vortex-induced vibration for aquatic clean energy (VIVACE) converter. Experimental results for amplitude response, frequency response, interactions between cylinders, energy harvesting, and efficiency are presented and discussed. All experiments were conducted in the low-turbulence free-surface water (LTFSW) Channel of the MRELab of the University of Michigan. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) the nonlinear-spring converter can harness energy from flows as slow as 0.33 m/s with no upper limit; (2) the nonlinear-spring converter has better performance at initial galloping than its linear-spring counterpart; (3) the FIV response is predominantly periodic for all nonlinear spring functions used; (4) the influence from the upstream cylinder is becoming more dominant as damping increases; (5) optimal power harnessing is achieved by changing the linear viscous damping and tandem spacing L/D; (6) close spacing ratio L/D = 1.57 has a positive impact on the harnessed power in VIV to galloping transition; and (7) the interactions between two cylinders have a positive impact on the upstream cylinder regardless of the spacing and harness damping.