Nonlinear Dyn (2020) 102:2267–2280
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-020-06080-w (0123456789().,-volV)
(0123456789().,-volV)
ORIGINAL PAPER
Motion-induced vortex shedding and lock-in phenomena
of a rectangular section
Zhitian Zhang . Xianxiong Zhang . Yaojun Ge
Received: 13 July 2020 / Accepted: 5 November 2020 / Published online: 12 November 2020
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The nonlinear vortex-induced vibration of
a rectangular section with an aspect ratio B/D=6 is
investigated in this study, aiming at explanation of
the phenomenon of double lock-in ranges. First,
numerical results by two-dimensional CFD simula-
tion are compared with experimental results; then
flow field characteristics, aerodynamic loadings and
structural motion properties are presented and dis-
cussed; finally, an energy-trapping-based model for
motion stability is brought forward, based on which
the observed aeroelastic phenomena are discussed.
The present study shows the motion-induced lock-in
range is able to be explained qualitatively with the
proposed principle describing the free-oscillation
stability. Within the motion-induced lock-in range,
the 1-DOF system can experience two motion
components. The dominance of the free vibration
fueled by feedback lift can dwarf or even eliminate
the vortex-shedding-induced motion. Further, it is
demonstrated that the phase angle between the lift
and motion velocity, instead of the load amplitude,
dominates the motion stability.
Z. Zhang (&)
College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Hainan
University, Haikou, China
e-mail: zhangzhitian999@126.com
X. Zhang · Y. Ge
State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil
Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
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Keywords Vortex-induced vibration ·
Rectangular section · CFD · Energy-trapping ·
Motion stability
1 Introduction
Aeroelastic phenomena are characteristic of wind-
sensitive structures such as long-span cable-sup-
ported or suspension bridges. Structural members
susceptible to sorts of aerodynamic oscillations can
range from local elements like stay cables, hangers to
global structure such as the cable-deck system [1, 2].
It has been demonstrated that aeroelastic phenomena,
including flutter instability and vortex-induced vibra-
tion (VIV), are all of nonlinear nature in terms of not
only aerodynamic load-motion mechanism [3, 4], but
also of mitigation countermeasure effects [5–7].
Compared to flutter instability, the VIV phenomenon
is much more common in practical engineering since
it is able to arise at much lower wind speeds.
Nonlinear properties of VIV are multiple: First, the
vortex-induced aerodynamic loadings are nonlinear;
second, motion amplitude due to VIV is nonlinear
function of relevant factors such as wind speed,
damping ratio, turbulence, etc.; third, structural
motion frequency at the onset of VIV is not
necessarily dominated by a specific Strouhal number,
which enables a 1-DOF system experience two lock-
in ranges of VIV. This kind of phenomenon has been
quite extensively reported [8–13]. Aerodynamic
123
2268
configurations of this property include bluff bridge
deck sections and rectangular cylinders within quite a
wide range of aspect ratios. Supposing that the
frequency of vortices shed from a sections is
dominated by a fixed number, i.e., Strouhal number
St, then it should increase linearly with the wind
speed, and resonance occurs when the shedding
frequency coincides the model’s natural frequency. In
this case, the onset reduced wind velocity=1/St. After
that, the frequency of vortex shedding is captured by
the structural motion and locked within a certain
range of wind speeds. A spring-mounted sectional
model is usually designed with only one heaving and
one torsional natural frequency, and hence in general
only one VIV lock-in range for each DOF is
expected. Two separated lock-in ranges mean that
the vortices do not shed according to the Strouhal
number throughout one lock-in range. However, one
thing in common is that the model oscillates in both
ranges with the same natural frequency. The first-
appeared lock-in range has been recognized as
motion-induced resonance or secondary resonance,
which is believed to differ from the one dictated by
von Kármán vortex street. The mechanism of the
latter one, of which the vortex frequency at the onset
is determined by the Strouhal number, is classic and
well known as described by von Kármán.
Shiraishi and Matsumoto [8], Matsumoto et al.
[10, 12] investigated a series of sections and put
forward a mechanism for the first-appeared lock-in
range at the lower-wind velocity region, that is, VIV
occurs when the motion-induced vortex generated at
the leading edge of the body reaches the trailing edge
and coalesces with the secondary vortex shed there.
Many other authors also pointed out that, for
rectangular cylinders with side ratios larger than 3,
the vortex-shedding mechanism is not triggered by
the interaction between upper and lower shear layers
(von Kármán type), but instead, resulted from the
impinging shear layer instability [14–17]. The study
by Nakamura and Nakashima show that VIV occurs
even if a splitter plate, which prevented the interac-
tion between shear layers, is inserted in the wake [9].
Therefore, both the von Kármán vortices (double-
layer flow instability) and the impinging shear layer
instability can be a mechanism for VIV. Wu and
Kareem summarized various mechanisms considered
by researchers giving explanations for VIV [18].
123
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Z. Zhang et al.
Explanations of the mechanism from flow pattern
characteristics prone to be puzzling regarding a basic
logic issue, that is, are they direct reasons leading to
the VIV, or just phenomena accompanying or even
irrelevant to the VIV? Historically, another way to
look into this kind of VIV is not from properties of
flow pattern, but from the load, the phase angle, and
the work done to the structure. Nakamura and Mizota
suggested the “lock-in” mechanism being the abrupt
phase change of the unsteady lift force, which lead to
large motion amplitudes [19]. Recently, based on
energy-trapping properties, Zhang et al. [20] related
the motion coupling attached to an aeroelastic
instability to phase angles. The change of phase
angles or energy-trapping properties are both phe-
nomena and results of specific properties of flow
around sections. Li et al. [21] investigated mode
competition in galloping and VIV of a square
cylinder at low Reynolds number and suggested the
mechanism found may be used to explain behaviors
of cylinders at high Reynold number about the
mismatch of motion and vortex-shedding frequencies.
Although these properties are still not able to be
viewed as a mechanism in essence, they are helpful in
better understanding the VIV in terms of issues such
as why structures resonate in the lock-in ranges, why
resonate with limited amplitudes, and so on. In this
work, the VIV phenomenon of a rectangular cylinder
is investigated, with special concerns in regard to the
flow patterns and the energy-trapping properties in
and out of the lock-in ranges.
2 CFD simulation
With the wind tunnel tests of a B/D=6 rectangular
cylinder as a benchmark [22], the CFD method is
used in this work to investigate concerned properties.
Notwithstanding sorts of limits and deficiencies
inherent in CFD methods, favorable results can be
obtained with close attention paid to turbulence
models, and to gridding and solution strategies.
Among the large family of turbulence modeling
methods, the Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes
(RANS) models prevail, mainly due to the capacity
for remarkably computational-cost saving with rea-
sonable accurate results. In this paper, the SST k–ω
RANS eddy viscosity turbulence model is employed.
Motion-induced vortex shedding and lock-in phenomena of a rectangular section 2269

For impressible viscous flow, the governing equa- structural grids, and those in the deforming zone are
tions for the ensemble averaged parameters 〈Φ〉 and smoothed in order to allow the movement, which is
fluctuating component φ are obtained by employing the well-known Arbitrary
Lagrangian–Eulerian formation. At the inlet, Carte-
ohUi ðtÞi
¼0 ð1Þ sian velocity U component with a zero y-gradient is
oxi

 specified. The freestream turbulence intensity Iu is set
ohUi ðtÞi o Uj ðtÞ hUi ðtÞi at 0.2%, which equals to that measured in the wind
þ
ot oxj tunnel testing. The turbulent viscosity ratio is set at 5,

 a typical value for low turbulence wind tunnels. At
1 ohPðtÞi o ohUi ðtÞi o Uj ðtÞ
¼ þm þ the outlet, a constant zero y-gradient constraint is also
q oxi oxj oxj oxi

 imposed on turbulence quantities.
o uj ðtÞ  ui ðtÞ The highest incoming velocity U is chosen that

oxj Remax=ρUD/μ=2.99104, 30 layers of structural grids
ð2Þ are generated to provide a reasonable prediction of

 the wall boundary layers by wall functions proposed
The Reynolds stress, uj ðtÞuj ðtÞ , are supposed to
by Kader [25]. With reference to the mesh depen-
be determined by the turbulence kinetic energy, k,
dency test, the first grid around the rectangular
and the specific dissipation rate, ω. All flow proper-
cylinder is placed at 2.75910−5D with an expansion
ties are obtained from Eqs. (1) and (2) along with the
ration of 1.06, ensuring that all the non-dimensional
two additional SST k–ω transport equations
wall distance Y+ values, which correspond to two
 
ok oðk  hUi ðtÞiÞ o ok Reynolds numbers, are far below 1 as shown in
þ ¼ Ck þ Gk þ Yk ð3Þ
ot oxi oxj oxj Fig. 3.
  After a series of independent inspections for
ox oðx  hUi ðtÞiÞ o ox
þ ¼ Cx þ G x þ Yx þ D x spatial discretization, the number of the cells for the
ot oxi oxj oxj whole domain is determined to 116,460. Planar view
ð4Þ of the grid is displayed in Fig. 4 with a close-up view
In these equations, Gk represents the generation of around the leading upper corner.
turbulence kinetic energy due to mean velocity The solution for CFD is advanced in time with the
gradients. Gω represents the generation of ω. Γk and second-order implicit backward method. Second-
Γω represent the effective diffusivity of k and ω, order central difference scheme and node-based
respectively. Yk and Yω represent the dissipation of gradient approximation are used for spatial dis-
k and ω due to turbulence. Dω represents the cross- cretization. The pressure at the new time level is
diffusion term. Further details refer to Ref. [23]. determined by the Poisson equation, and the velocity
The two-dimensional rectangular section shown in is corrected by the Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure
Fig. 1 is of the same geometry as that used for the Linked Equation with a Consistent approximation
wind tunnel tests [22], 67 mm in depth and 400 mm (SIMPLE-C) of Vandoormaal [26]. The non-dimen-
in width. The physical model is 1540 mm in length. sional time step is set equal to Δt9U/D=0.01, which
The meshing of the computational domain follows provides a satisfactory achievement advancing in
the strategy described by de Miranda [24], the time with most Courant numbers close to 1.
domain and some key boundary conditions are The structural dynamics model shown in Fig. 5 is
presented in Fig. 2. All zones are meshed with considered as a single y-degree of freedom system.
The governing equation for the rectangle is

y _ þ K yðtÞ
MyðtÞ þ C yðtÞ € ¼ FðtÞ ð5Þ
where M=9.5 kg is the oscillating mass of the system,
D=67mm

O x the same as the model tested in wind tunnel. Natural

B=400mm
frequency of the system is fs =6.71 Hz, indicating that
the stiffness K is 16,886 kN/m. The energy dissipat-
Fig. 1 Rectangular section used for CFD simulation ing mechanism is represented by the damping

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2270 Z. Zhang et al.

U
Symmetry
y Rigid Zone
Pressure Outlet

72D
Fixed Zone
x

72D
Velocity Inlet
Deforming Zone
Symmetry

72D 180D

Fig. 2 Sketch of the computational domain

1.0 U

0.8 Re=12 000

Re=27 000
0.6
Yplus

K C
0.4

0.2 Fig. 5 Schematic diagram of the dynamical model

0.0
-0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 FL ðtÞ
Horizontal position(m) CL ¼ ð6Þ
0:5  qU 2 D
Fig. 3 Y+ values along the rectangular cylinder The Newmark-beta method has been applied to
analyze the oscillating rectangular cylinder. The
coefficient C, which is determined by the ratio-to- marching of the velocity and displacement of the
critical damping coefficient ξ0 =0.54%. The transient rectangle are expressed as
aerodynamic force F(t) is solved through RANS
equations with the SST k–ω turbulence model, and y_n ðtÞ ¼ y_n1 ðtÞ þ ð1  cÞy€n1 ðtÞ þ cðDtÞy_n1 ðtÞ ð7Þ
the non-dimensional Lift force for the vertical
vibration is defined as

Fig. 4 Two-dimensional
grids: a for the domain and
b around the corner

123

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Motion-induced vortex shedding and lock-in phenomena of a rectangular section 2271

  1.6
1 SST k-ω
yn ðtÞ ¼ yn1 ðtÞ þ ðDtÞy_n1 ðtÞ þ  b ðDtÞ2 y€n1 ðtÞ þ bðDtÞ2 y€n ðtÞ
2 1.4
ð8Þ the first resonance
0.105
1.2
1
In analysis of the above single degree of freedom

f/fv
1.0
system, β=1/6 and γ=1/2 are adopted to ensure a
stable calculation. 0.8 the second resonance
0.6

3 Aeroelastic phenomenon and motion stability 0.4

3.1 Simulated Aeroelasticity compared
with tested results
The non-dimensional amplitude Y/D of the heaving
motion y(t) against reduced velocity Ured for the
system free to vibrate is shown in Fig. 6 (Ured =U/fB,
where U is the oncoming wind speed; f is the
structural motion frequency; B is the reference width
of the model). The results are in accordance with
findings of Matsumoto [10, 12], that is, the first
heaving resonance occurs at about Ured =0.835(B/D),
namely in this case 5 for the B/D=6 rectangle. It
takes a duration of two cycles of heaving motion for
the vortices separated from the leading edge to reach
the trailing edge. This duration is identical in both the
experiment and the CFD simulation. When it comes
to the second (primary) lock-in range of wind
velocity, Matsumoto predicted its onset at reduced
velocity Ured =1.67(B/D), that is 10 in this case
[10, 12]. In fact, this occurs approximately at Ured =
9.3 experimentally and Ured =9.8 computationally,
which in essence are Kármán vortex resonance
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
U/fvD
Fig. 7 Non-dimensional frequency of VIV
started at reduced velocity Ured =1/St=9.5 (St=
0.105). In general, the CFD results are in good
agreement with those tested in wind tunnel [22].
Presented in Fig. 7 is the dominant frequency of
the heaving motion against the reduced velocity Ured
=U/fvD. It is noted that, throughout the first-appeared
lock-in range, the frequency is away from the line
representing the Strouhal number St, indicating a
mechanism extensively discussed in the literature.
This has been believed not a result from Kármán
vortex street, but instead, a result due to the structural
motion-induced vortices. The second (primary) lock-
in range starts at a pointed in the Strouhal number
line, which is characteristic of the mechanism
described by von Kármán [27]. The oscillating
frequencies in both lock-in ranges are very close to
the natural one, indicating negligible influences of the
aerodynamic stiffness.

3.2 Motion properties and motion stability

0.05
0.05 Experiments
The study of Bruno shows that the flow past a
0.04 SST-kw
rectangular cylinder is three-dimensional [28]. The
0.04
main phenomena which drive the structure to motion
0.03 The second resonance
is, however, significantly two-dimensional down-
Y/D

0.03 The first resonance stream the leading edge. In order to understand the
0.02
mechanism of the VIV, it is necessary to look into
0.02
details of the flow features. Based on the VIV results
0.01
(see Figs. 6, 7), the response throughout the covered
0.01
domain is divided into three sub-regions. They are the
0.00
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 first resonance region, the second resonance region
U/fvD and the non-resonance region. The first resonance
region starts at reduced velocity 5.12 and ends at
Fig. 6 VIV amplitudes of the model

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2272 Z. Zhang et al.

6.45, where the Strouhal law does not hold in the
entire region; the second one covers the reduced wind
speed range from 9.78 to 13.78, where the Strouhal
law holds at the very first and then the frequency keep
almost unchanged due to lock-in effect.
Instantaneous streamlines around the section at
every sixth division point over a vibrating period are
shown in Fig. 8 for Ured =5.78, Ured =8.0 and Ured =
13.12, corresponding, respectively, the summit point
of the first lock-in range, a typical non-VIV point,
and the summit of the second lock-in range. For the
summit point of the first lock-in range (see Fig. 8a),
the flow field around the section is quite complicated.
Vortices are shedding alternatively from both the
leading and trailing edges. Two vortices generated
successively from the leading edge are traveling
simultaneously along the upper/lower surface toward
the trailing edge. As Ured increases to the non-VIV
point 8.0, the flow pattern evolves to a totally
different one, as shown in Fig. 8b. Shedding vortices
are found only from the trailing edge, and two
stable bubbles are formed near the leading edge and
then adhere symmetrically to the upper and lower
surfaces. Referring to Fig. 8c, when the Ured reaches

Fig. 8 Simulated flow patterns around the section: a summit of the first lock-in range, Ured =5.78; b non-VIV point, Ured =8.0;
c summit of the second lock-in range, Ured =13.12

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Motion-induced vortex shedding and lock-in phenomena of a rectangular section 2273

the summit point of the second lock-in range, the flow surface. And no new bubble occurs from the leading
around the section evolves to another new pattern edge until the former one disappears.
where bubbles generated at the leading edge roll Time histories and spectra of the aerodynamic lift
down on the surfaces along with vortices shedding and heaving motions are shown in Fig. 9 with regard
from the trailing edge alternatively. In this case, only to the first lock-in range at the start, the summit, and
one bubble travels at a time along the upper/lower the end, respectively. Also, spectra of the lift of a
fixed section with otherwise the same conditions are

0.04 0.04 0.04

0.02 0.02 0.02

100×y/D
100×y/D

y/D
0.00 0.00 0.00

-0.02 -0.02 -0.02

-0.04 -0.04 -0.04

380 400 420 440 460 480 250 255 260 265 240 260 280 300 320
t×fv t×fv t×fv
1.8 1.8 1.8
1.2 1.2 1.2
0.6 0.6 0.6
0.0

CL
0.0 0.0
CL
CL

-0.6 -0.6 -0.6

-1.2 -1.2 -1.2
-1.8 -1.8 -1.8
380 400 420 440 460 480 250 255 260 265 240 260 280 300 320
t×fv t×fv t×fv
2.0 2.0 2.0
10000y/D 100y/D 10000y/D
1.5 1.5 1.5
Spectrum

1.0 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

0.9 CL from elastic model 0.9 CL from elastic model 0.9 CL from elastic model
Spectrum

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.3 0.3 0.3

0.0 0.0 0.0

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

0.06 0.06 0.06

CL from fixed model CL from fixed model CL from fixed model
Spectrum

0.04 0.04 0.04

0.02 0.02 0.02

0.00 0.00 0.00

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
(a) Ured =5.12 (b) Ured =5.78 (c) Ured =6.45

Fig. 9 Time histories and spectra of the structural motion and lift in the first lock-in range

123

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2274
presented for comparison. Scrutiny on Fig. 9 leading
to the following findings:
(i) At the start and the end, where resonance does
not actually happen, the aerodynamic lift and the
motions have two frequency components, one due to
the vortex shedding and the other to the structural
motion. The effect of vortex shedding according to
the St number is twofold: (ii) first it gives rise to a
motion component in the system at its natural
frequency (differs the vortex-shedding frequency);
this component in return results in a component of lift
of the exact same frequency. (iii) At the summit of
the lock-in range, the lift and motion components of
the frequency by Strouhal law disappear completely.
And only the system’s natural frequency can be seen
in both the motion and the lift spectra, clearly
different from the frequency of the lift in the case of
the static section (by Strouhal law).
When the reduced wind velocity reaches 8.0, a
value in between the first and second lock-in regions,
the vortex-induced resonance disappears completely
and the amplitude Y/D decreases to a very small value
pursuant to the mechanism of forced response of a
single DOF system subject to sinusoidal excitation
(see Fig. 10). The frequency of the dominant lift
recovers obeying the Strouhal law.
1.8
1.2
0.6
10×y/D
0.0
CL
-0.6
-1.2
-1.8
40 45 50 55 60 65
t×fv
Fig. 10 VIV at Ured =8.0
123
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Z. Zhang et al.
The VIV due to the von Kármán vortex street
comes at Ured =9.78, where the vortex-shedding
frequency equals (approximately) the system’s natu-
ral frequency. Figure 11 presents in this case the time
histories and spectra of the aerodynamic lift and
heaving motions at the start, the summit, and the end,
respectively. The response increases with Ured and
culminates when it reaches 13.12, and then drops
rapidly and finalizes the lock-in range when Ured
increases slightly from 13.12 to 13.78. At both the
start and the end, the dominant response of the
section is of the same frequency as that of the lift
resulted from the fixed, static section (by Strouhal
law). In between the lock-in range, an apparent
difference is found between the two values, signify-
ing the well-known lock-in mechanism of VIV.
4 Motion stability and energy-trapping properties
4.1 Modeling of motion stability
Considering cases with regular vortex shedding
determined by Strouhal law, since the system is
always driven from a motionless state, it can be
described by the following equation:
0.04
0.02
0.00
-0.02
-0.04
40 45 50 55 60 65
t×fv
Motion-induced vortex shedding and lock-in phenomena of a rectangular section 2275

0.04 0.04 0.04

0.02 0.02 0.02

100×y/D
10×y/D

y/D
0.00 0.00 0.00

-0.02 -0.02 -0.02

-0.04 -0.04 -0.04

80 85 90 95 345 350 355 360 55 60 65 70
t×fv t×fv t×fv

1.8 1.8 1.8

1.2 1.2 1.2
0.6 0.6 0.6
0.0 0.0
CL

CL
0.0
CL

-0.6 -0.6 -0.6

-1.2 -1.2 -1.2
-1.8 -1.8 -1.8
80 85 90 95 345 350 355 360 55 60 65 70
t×fv t×fv t×fv
2.0 2.0 2.0
10000y/D 100y/D 10000y/D
1.5 1.5 1.5
Spectrum

1.0 1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0 0.0

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

0.9 CL from elastic model 0.9 CL from elastic model 0.9 CL from elastic model
Spectrum

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.3 0.3 0.3

0.0 0.0 0.0

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

0.06 0.06 0.06

CL from fixed model CL from fixed model CL from fixed model
Spectrum

0.04 0.04 0.04

0.02 0.02 0.02

0.00 0.00 0.00

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

(a) U red =9.78 (b) Ured =13.12 (c) Ured =13.78

Fig. 11 Time histories and spectra of the structural motion and lift in the second lock-in range

circular frequency of the vortex shedding. Note at this

my€ þ cy_ þ ky ¼ L0 cos Xt ð9Þ
moment there is no motion-induced load in the right
where L0 is the amplitude of the aerodynamic load side of the equation.
due to vortex shedding, m being mass, c being
damping coefficient, k being stiffness, X being the

123

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2276 Z. Zhang et al.

The total response of the system has been known

ZT
to be the sum of the steady forced oscillation yst and p  
the transient free decay oscillation ytr , as follows: WL ¼ Lae y_tr dt ¼ L A cos h ð15Þ
xd
0
y ¼ yst þ ytr ð10Þ
where T=2π/ωd is the period. In comparison, the
where amount of energy dissipated by the damping during a
Y0 single motion period is
yst ¼ h  i1=2 cosðXt  aÞ ð11Þ
2
1  k2 þð2fkÞ2 T p pffiffiffi
WC ¼  r cy_tr y_tr dt ¼ cA2 2 ð16Þ
0 xd
fxn t
ytr ¼ e ðA1 cos xd t þ A2 sin xd tÞ ð12Þ
The amount of net work done to the system is then
where xd is damped circular frequency; xn natural  
circular frequency; ζ is the damping ratio determined p 2 L
WNet ¼ WL þ WC ¼ A cos h  c ð17Þ
by m, c, and k; Y0 ¼ L0 =k is static response; xd A
k ¼ X=xn ; tan a ¼ kmX
cX
2 is the phase angle between Therefore, the stability of the motion perturbation at
the steady response and the excitation; A1, A2 are the natural frequency depends on the following
constants depending on the initial conditions. condition:
Due to sorts of perturbations (such as stochastic 8 L
oncoming or signature turbulences) and initial con- < A cos h  c\0 decaying zone
L
ditions, there are always chances of responses  cos h  c ¼ 0 equilibrium line ð18Þ
: AL
expressed by Eq. (12). Once there is such a periodic A cos h  c [ 0 diverging zone
structural motion, the flow field must adjust its The decaying zone, diverging zone and the equilib-
pattern around the section accordingly, and, as a rium line are shown in Fig. 12. It is noted that
result, a periodic aerodynamic loading comes into Eq. (18) is a linear model not being able to reflect the
being, which is of the same frequency as that of the limit oscillation characteristics of VIV. If such
structural motion. However, there must be a phase nonlinear properties are to be considered, L* would
angle of a certain value between the load and the vary with the motion amplitude since the lift evolves
motion. with the amplitude in nonlinear ways such as [1]
Whether the part of free oscillation decays or
develops to a limit cycle or even an unstable state
depends on the amount of work done by the extra lift.
Referring to Eq. (12), given a general form of
perturbation as
y_tr ¼ A sinðxd t þ ;Þ ð13Þ
where A is the velocity amplitude. The part of extra
lift induced by this part of motion is then
Lae ¼ L sinðxd t þ ; þ hÞ ð14Þ
where h is the phase angle between the extra lift and
the motion velocity; L is the aerodynamic lift
amplitude corresponding to motion amplitude A .
Now consider the amount of work done by the
extra lift to the system within one single period, WL .
It can be determined by using Eqs. (13) and (14), as

Fig. 12 Equilibrium line plotted in polar coordinate system

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Motion-induced vortex shedding and lock-in phenomena of a rectangular section 2277

  4
1 2 y2 y_ WL(VIV)
Lae ¼ qU D Y1 ðK Þ 1  e 2 ð19Þ WC(VIV)
2 D U
2

W×10-3(N·m)
where Y1 are functions of the reduced frequency K=
Dω/U; D is a reference size of the section; U is the 0

wind velocity.
Referring to Fig. 12, once r ¼ L =A goes into the -2

diverging region, the 1-DOF system is able to

oscillate with two frequencies, one is natural and
the other determined by the Strouhal law. This is
clearly shown at the start and the end of the first lock-
in range (see Fig. 9 and Table 1), where the resonance
isn’t very intense. However, there seems to be an
interaction mechanism between the two motion
components, and, as ytr becomes instable and
increases, it dwarfs and even eliminates yst entirely,
as shown by the case of the summit of the first lock-
in.
. trapped balances exactly the amount dissipated.
4.2 Energy-trapping properties
To better understand the VIV, it is helpful to check
the balance between the energy trapped from the flow
and that dissipated by mechanical damping, and then
to see what would happen to this balance if the
system is forced to oscillate with amplitudes larger or
smaller than those observed. In so doing, one is able
to understand why the system experiences the
observed specific limit cycle oscillations.
Both the part of work done by the aerodynamic lift
and the part by damping are able to be calculated by a
discrete form based on Eq. (15), expressed, respec-
tively, with WL(U) by the lift and WC(U) by the
damping force. If WL(U)+WC(U)≠0, the system at
the current state is unstable and the amplitudes would
-4
5 7 9 11 13 15
U/fvD
Fig. 13 Energy properties during original VIV
increase in the case of WL(U)+WC(U) [ 0 or
decrease in the case of WL(U)+WC(U)\0. The
balance of the two parts of work based on CFD is
shown in Fig. 13. All computed cases in or out of the
lock-in ranges indicate that the amount of energy
With otherwise the same condition but the system
being forced to vibrate with half the amplitudes
simulated, the balancing between the two parts of
energy is shown in Fig. 14a. Now it is noticed that, in
both lock-in ranges, the amount of work done by the
lift is obviously more than the amount dissipated,
signifying a trend of increasing the motion amplitude.
On the other hand, Fig. 14b plots the results when the
system is forced to oscillate with amplitudes 5 times
those simulated. It can be seen that in this case both
the damping force and the aerodynamic lift are
dissipating the system’s energy in both lock-in
ranges, indicating a strong trend to decrease the
system’s oscillating amplitudes.
A more fundamental question arising from the
aforementioned discussion regarding energy balanc-
ing is what are the main factors that determine the

Table 1 Motions properties in and out of the lock-in ranges

Ured 1st lock-in range 8.0 2nd lock-in range
5.12 (start) 5.78 6.45 (end) 9.78 (start) 13.12 13.78 (end)

fs (Hz) 6.71 6.71 6.71 6.71 6.71 6.71 6.71

fv (Hz) 3.61 4.08 4.54 5.65 6.92 9.31 9.77
fv/fs \1 \1 \1 \1 ≈1 [1 [1
Motion freq. fs and fv fs fs and fv fv fs fs fs
*Note: fs in Table 1 refers to the model’s natural frequency; fv refers to the vortex-shedding frequency when the model is fixed

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2278 Z. Zhang et al.

(a) (b)
4 0
WL(VIV)
WL(Amp. = 0.5×VIV)
3
WC(Amp. = 0.5×VIV) -30
W×10-3(N·m)

W×10-3(N·m)
2
-60 WL(VIV)
1 WL(Amp. = 5×VIV)
WC(Amp. = 5×VIV)
0 -90

-1 -120
5 7 9 11 13 15 5 7 9 11 13 15
U/fvD U/fvD

Fig. 14 Energy balancing in the cases of forced vibration: a contracted amplitudes; b amplified amplitudes

Fig. 15 The change of r ¼ L =A and phase angles with motion amplitudes: a Ured =5.78; b Ured =13.1

energy equilibrium? Referring again to Eqs. (13) and 5 Conclusions

(14), Fig. 15 plots the values of r ¼ L =A and phase
angles, where r(O.), r(C.), r(A.) represent the r vectors
when the amplitudes are original, contracted by half,
and amplified by 5 times, respectively. It is noted
that, for both summit points of the two lock-in ranges,
vectors of the original amplitudes locate on the
equilibrium line, indicating a balance state between
the amounts of energy trapped and dissipated. For
cases of amplitudes being contracted or amplified, no
significant differences are found among the modulus
of r. However, the phase angle between motion
velocity and the aerodynamic lift changes substan-
tially, resulting in the shifting of the vector to the
decaying zone or to the diverging zone, and that tells
the most important factor determines the section’s
response in terms of decaying, diverging, or just
remaining stable.
The VIV of a B/D=6 rectangular cylinder are
investigated in this study, with special attention
being paid to the motion, flow, energy-trapping
properties and mechanisms leading to resonance.
Based on the presented discussions, findings are
summarized as follows:
1. One of the two lock-in ranges of VIV is found to
be induced by the structural motion. In this lock-
in range, the 1-natrual-frequency structure can
experience motions with two frequencies, corre-
sponding, respectively, to forced and free
vibrations. The forced vibration is driven by
vortex shedding while the free vibration is
supposed to be driven by perturbations. The
feedback aerodynamic load due to the perturba-
tions may in return fuel the motion and result in
the lock-in range. The sign of ðL =A Þ cos h  c

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Motion-induced vortex shedding and lock-in phenomena of a rectangular section
is put forward to provide judgement of stability
of the perturbation-induced free vibrations;
2. Phenomena of the 1-DOF system oscillating with
two frequencies exist only at the start and end of
the first lock-in range, and when the free
vibration fueled by feedback lift is dominant, it
dwarfs and eventually eliminates the part of
motion induced by vortex shedding;
3. It is demonstrated that the phase angle between
the lift and structural velocity, instead of the load
amplitude, dominates the motion’s stability.
Acknowledgements For the work described in this paper,
authors would like to express their gratitude to the financial
support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(Grant Number 51578233 and 51938012).
Funding This study was funded by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (Grant Number 51578233 and
51938012).
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest We declare that we have no conflict of
interest.
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