Passive control of vortex induced vibration in internal flow using body shape

We present a concept for passive control of vortex induced vibration (VIV) that uses the body shape of a prismatic body as the control parameter in 2D internal flow. We consider that the Reynolds number based on the prism cross section height is 200 and that the blockage ratio of the channel is 2.5. The working fluid is water and the solid-to-fluid density ratio is 1, so that the prism presents neutral buoyancy and the body shape parameter γ acts as the only control parameter. Two very different fluid dynamics regimes are observed depending on γ with an abrupt transition between them for γ=γ_c, where γ_c represents a critical value obtained numerically. For γ<γ_c the cylinder oscillation is controlled by vortex shedding and represents a typical case of vortex induced vibration. For γ>γ_c the oscillation is a mixture of galloping and vortex induced vibration that causes the prism motion to shift from a stable periodic motion to a highly irregular pattern. The physical explanation for the change of regime is given based on the cylinder equation of motion.