Numerical analysis of vortex shedding

Abstract

This report deals with structural vibrations of wind exposed structures caused by the vortex shedding phenomena. The theory of vortex shedding and the field of study called aeroelastisity are presented. A case study of a light mast structure has been used as a study of the vortex shedding phenomena. Numerical simulations of vortex shedding have been performed through the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The aerodynamic flow around an U-section suiceptable to vortex-induced vibrations has been evaluated. Three different aerodynamic supression devices for vortex-induced vibrations have been presented and discussed. An attempt was also made to perform Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis. But as computational stability problems were encountered, these attempts were not successful.