Flow-induced vibration of a curved tube array subject to liquid cross flow

This paper presents the results of tests of a curved-tube array in air, in stationary water, and in flowing fluid. A curved-tube array can be subjected to fluidelastic instability which is similar to that in a straight-tube array. However, in a curved-tube array, tube natural frequencies are different in two directions and there are frequency variations among different tube rows; the critical-flow velocity and instability mode are not the same as those of the corresponding straight-tube array. Based on the experimental data, a mathematical consideration, it can be concluded that some of the instability modes will not occur in a curved-tube array; therefore, the critical-flow velocity established for straight-tube arrays can be considered as a conservative estimate for a corresponding curved-tube array.