Onset instability of inverted flags clamped by a cylinder

Abstract

We numerically investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics and analyze the instability mechanism of a two-dimensional inverted flag clamped by a cylinder. Two transition routes and a total of six kinds of solutions exist under this configuration for different diameters of cylinders due to complex bifurcations. Specifically, for small cylinders, the undeformed equilibrium transitions to static deformed equilibrium through a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation, which is judged by the weakly nonlinear analysis together with the global linear instability analysis. The instability mechanism is the lifting effect of the steady structure mode working at the leading edge of the elastic plate. For large cylinders, another unstable fluid mode (decoupled with structure mode) causes the disappearance of the static undeformed and deformed equilibrium, replaced by a small amplitude flapping. The structure mode and the flow mode mainly contribute to the growth of perturbations in plate and downstream cylinder regions respectively, which can excite multi-mode oscillating transition analyzed by proper orthogonal decomposition. Moreover, we find there is a critical diameter $D_c$ dividing the pitchfork bifurcation and Hopf bifurcation, and $D_c$ decreases with the increase of Reynolds number. Finally, we prove downstream vortex shedding can induce upward vortex-induced vibration of the plate and further improve the efficiency of energy transfer from the fluid to the structure during small-deflection flapping.