Numerical simulation of cylinder oscillation by using a direct forcing technique

Abstract Fluid–structure interaction (FSI) is an important safety issue of nuclear components such as reactor vessel internals, heat exchangers, steam generators and piping, etc. For instance, when continuous repetitive flow is rapidly exerted on cylinders, resulting oscillation induces high vibration that may lead to fretting wear on the contact surface of cylinder. In the present research, to assess vibration characteristics of cylinders in fluidic channels, a modified immersed finite element method (IFEM) is developed by using a direct forcing technique coupled with cylinder oscillation. Then, this method is tested for an elastically mounted cylinder in still fluid or subjected to uniform inlet fluid flow and further a simple tube bundle to examine effects of vibration-related parameters.