Two-degree-of-freedom vortex induced vibration of low-mass horizontal circular cylinder near a free surface at low Reynolds number

Two-degree-of-freedom vortex induced vibration (VIV) of a low-mass zero-damping circular cylinder horizontally placed near a free surface at Re = 100 was numerically studied with an adaptive Cartesian cut-cell/level-set method. Two Froude numbers and various normalized submergence depths were considered. The results reveal that the Froude number affects the critical normalized submergence depth and possible physical mechanisms are proposed. The in-line vibration amplitude cannot be neglected. Proximity to a free surface strengthens and suppresses the VIV for low and high Froude numbers, respectively; increases the occurrence of amplitude modulation; and in general enhances the magnitude of the time-averaged lift coefficient, which is always negative. The phase lag of the transverse displacement behind the lift coefficient jumps at some reduced velocity, which strongly depends on the Froude number and normalized submergence depth. Regular trajectories exist only in cases with a small vibration amplitude or a large normalized submergence depth. The vortex structures in any case with large transverse amplitude basically originate from the alternative vortex shedding with the negative vortex weaker than the positive one. For the higher Froude number, an extra free surface positive vortex interacts with the vortices from the cylinder surface. The vibration frequency deviates from the natural structure frequency in fluids in the large-amplitude regime. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.