Finite element analysis of vortex shedding oscillations from cylinders in the straight channel

In this paper a GCL (Geometry Conservation Law) – preserving finite element model is developed to simulate the fluid-structure interaction phenomena. The boundary locations are part of the solution procedures. Within the moving grid framework, the employed numerical method involves the operator splitting technique, balance tensor diffusivity (BTD), Runge-Kutta time-stepping method, and an element-by-element conjugate gradient iterative solver. Flows around a self-vibrating cylinder and elastically supported cylinders are investigated to validate the present method. The simulated results agree well with available data in the literature. The lock-in phenomenon that may cause the unstable motion of cylinders is also revealed. It is significant from the simulated 2×2 four cylinders result that the rear two cylinders approach to each other at a time earlier than the front two ones.