Abstract
A flexible cylinder with pinned ends in axial flow of sufficiently high flow velocity is subject to buckling and oscillatory hydroelastic instabilities. These instabilities are discussed briefly and it is shown that they occur at such high flow velocities that they are not likely to be encountered in practice, unless the cylinder is made of very flexible material such as rubber.
The cylinder is subjected to small amplitude vibration, however, even at flow velocities very much smaller than the critical velocities for hydroelastic instabilities. The mechanism of energy transfer from the fluid to the cylinder is examined and it is postulated that this vibration is excited by cross-flow components of flow and other departures from steady, uniform and perfectly axial flow. Experimental evidence supporting this postulate is presented.
An empirical expression is given for the amplitude of vibration based on reported experimental observations covering a variety of geometries, fluids and cylinder materials.
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