Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Structural Dynamics, EURODYN 2014

Porto, Portugal, 30 June - 2 July 2014

A. Cunha, E. Caetano, P. Ribeiro, G. Müller (eds.)
ISSN: 2311-9020; ISBN: 978-972-752-165-4

VIV and galloping instability of a rectangular cylinder with a side ratio of 1.5
Claudio Mannini1 , Antonino M. Marra1 , Gianni Bartoli1
1 CRIACIV/Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via S. Marta 3, 50139 Florence, Italy
email: claudio.mannini@dicea.unifi.it, antonino.marra@dicea.unifi.it, gianni.bartoli@unifi.it

ABSTRACT: The interaction between galloping and vortex-induced vibration was experimentally investigated in the particular case
of an infinitely long rectangular cylinder with a side ratio of 1.5 in smooth flow. This geometry was found to be very unstable and
large oscillations were observed also at high Scruton number in a range where no excitation was expected according to the classical
theory. A ratio of the quasi-steady galloping critical wind speed to Kármán-vortex resonance velocity larger than a minimum value
in the range 7 ÷ 9 seems to be necessary in order to avoid such a combined instability. This result, which finds a support from the
literature, is in strong disagreement with Eurocode 1, which unconservatively claims that interaction can be excluded for a ratio of
critical velocities outside the range 0.7 ÷ 1.5. The effect of Reynolds number was also partially investigated by testing two section
models at different scales. Finally, the experiments highlighted several nonlinear features of the dynamic system, such as secondary
and superharmonic resonances, hysteresis and frequency demultiplication.

KEY WORDS: Galloping; Vortex-induced vibration; Aeroelastic interaction; Rectangular cylinder; Wind-tunnel tests.

1 INTRODUCTION
Galloping is a dynamic instability of slender prismatic structures
caused by the self-excitation due to wind. Mathematically
speaking it is a supercritical Hopf bifurcation and then, once
the critical wind speed has been exceeded, it manifests itself
as a limit-cycle nearly-harmonic oscillation whose amplitude
steadily grows by increasing the flow velocity. The critical
wind speed is usually calculated through the quasi-steady force
criterion [1]. It is proportional to a mass-damping parameter
called Scruton number and inversely proportional to a stability
parameter obtained by measurements on the stationary body.
Vortex-induced vibration is caused by the nonlinear reso-
nance of the force due to the alternate shedding of vortices with
one mode of vibration of the structure and self-excitation is a
key issue in case of large-amplitude oscillations. The excitation
starts at a critical wind speed which depends on the Strouhal
number and disappears beyond a certain flow velocity. The
amplitude of vibration and the extension of the so-called “lock-
in” range depend on the mass ratio and structural damping,
combined as Scruton number for conventional structures in
airflow.
In slender prismatic structures with bluff cross section and
sufficient afterbody both phenomena are possible and therefore
interaction can occur. In particular, this is true for rectangular
cylinders in smooth flow with 0.6 . B/D . 2.8, being B the
width and D the depth of the section, which are known to be
very unstable with respect to galloping [2]. Eurocode 1 [3] states
that, if the ratio of the galloping to the VIV critical wind speed
(the former calculated with the classical quasi-steady theory) is
either lower than 0.7 or larger than 1.5 the two phenomena can
be considered separately. Nevertheless, beside the data reported
in the present work, in the literature there are many experimental
results that clearly disagree with this statement, as clearly shown
by the extensive review reported in [4]. Therein, the difficulties
in the prediction of the critical wind speed are also highlighted.
In particular, by collecting literature data from measurements
of the galloping stability parameters, a large uncertainty in its
estimation was observed due to the strong dependence of its
value on the test conditions (quality of model edges, Reynolds
number, blockage ratio, characteristics of the oncoming flow,
etc). However, the non-conservativeness of the values suggested
by Eurocode 1 [3] is apparent.
It was shown that prismatic towers with rectangular cross
section could also be prone to galloping [5], [6], [7] and this may
be of particular concern nowadays due to the reduction of modal
frequencies and damping, as well as the increased lightness and
slenderness of modern tall buildings [4]. A possible interaction
between VIV and galloping makes the problem even harder
since it allows the onset of limit-cycle oscillations at relatively
low wind speed, that is at the critical velocity for VIV, but
with amplitudes unrestrictedly growing with the flow speed, as
typical of galloping, even for large values of the Scruton number.
In this work the aeroelastic behaviour of a sharp-edged
rectangular 3:2 cylinder (B/D = 1.5) with the short side
D perpendicular to the flow was experimentally investigated
through static and aeroelastic tests in order to shed some light
on the complicated VIV-galloping interaction phenomenon. In
fact, this geometry has not been as extensively studied as the
square cylinder but interestingly it appears to be even more
susceptible to this combined instability. Two sectional models at
different scales were tested by using a static and an aeroelastic
rig, in order to investigate two Reynolds number ranges and to
span a large interval of Scruton numbers. Force measurements,
velocity-amplitude diagrams and flow-velocity fluctuations in
the wake of the oscillating body are discussed to provide more
insight into the phenomenon. Particular attention is devoted to
nonlinear features of the dynamic system, such as secondary and
superharmonic resonances, hysteresis patterns and frequency
demultiplication.

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(a) (b)

Figure 1. View of wooden model (D = 77 mm) (a) and aluminum model (D = 30 mm) (b) mounted on the aeroelastic rig.

2 WIND TUNNEL TESTS

Experiments were conducted in the open-circuit boundary layer
wind tunnel of CRIACIV, located in Prato, Italy. The test section
is 2.42 m wide and 1.60 m high. First, a wooden sectional model
(Figures 1(a) and 2), 986 mm long, 116 mm wide (B) and 77 mm
deep (D), was used to perform both static and dynamic tests.
To enforce bidimensional flow conditions, rectangular plates in
plywood were provided at the model ends; their dimensions
(450 mm × 150 mm × 4 mm) were defined according to ESDU
prescriptions [8], [9]. The mass of the model, end-plates and
supporting carbon-fiber tube was 1.730 kg. The model was also
equipped with pressure taps located at the center of each side of
the rectangle; registrations at a sampling frequency of 500 Hz
were performed with piezoelectric pressure transducers and the
system PSI DTC Initium.
Afterwards, the tests were repeated on an aluminum model
(Figure 1(b)), 1 m long, 45 mm wide and 30 mm deep.
Rectangular end plates in steel (150 mm × 90 mm × 2 mm,
the long side extending 15 mm upstream the downward face
and 90 mm downstream the leeward face) were provided and
the total mass of the model was 2.672 kg.
Both models were placed horizontally in the wind tunnel with
the shorter side of the section perpendicular to the flow. The
blockage ratio given by the model alone, calculated as D/Hwt ,
being Hwt the height of the wind-tunnel section, was 4.8% for
the wooden model and 1.9% for the aluminum model. All the
tests were carried out in smooth flow with a turbulence intensity
of about 1%.
For measurements of velocity fluctuations in the wake a
single hot-wire anemometer, connected to a Dantec CTA Bridge
56C01, was placed in several positions behind the models.
2.1 Static set-up
Most of the static tests were performed on the largest wooden
model. It was connected to six load cells (three on each side)
through a system of connecting rods with spherical hinges,
which allowed the measurement of drag, lift and moment. The
Figure 2. Sketch of the wooden model with end-plates.
model was placed inside a rig consisting of two large plexiglass
walls supported by two metallic frames connected both to the
floor and the ceiling of the wind tunnel. The load cells were
fixed to these frames. The aerodynamic force coefficients were
determined for angles of attack ranging approximately from
−10o to +10o .
As for the aluminum model, in one case the aeroelastic rig
(see Section 2.2) was blocked with pretensioned cables and the
velocity fluctuation in the wake were measured with a hot-wire
anemometer.
2.2 Aeroelastatic set-up
Figure 1 shows the aeroelastic set-up. The model was
connected to two shear-type steel frames allowing only a vertical
displacement due to the very large in-plane flexural stiffness
of the vertical elements. The aerodynamic damping due to the
exposition to the flow of the plate-springs was verified to be very
small. The stiffness of the suspension system was modified in
the different tests by varying the length of the plate-springs.
The displacements of the model were recorded respectively
with two non-contact laser transducers. The damping and
frequency of the system were measured imposing several times

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Re = 61200 4 Re = 96600
4 10
10
nD/U = 0.106 nD/U = 0.318 nD/U = 0.106 nD/U = 0.318

n0 D/U n0 D/U
2 2
10 10 nD/U = 0.212

SLL
0
SLL

0
10 10

−2 −2
10 10

−4 −4
10 10
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
nD/U nD/U
(a) (b)

Figure 3. Power spectral density of lift coefficient for two values of Reynolds number (wooden model). n0 ∼
= 40 Hz is the transverse
bending frequency of the model.

4 Re = 96600 α [deg]
10 −10 −8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10
nD/U = 0.106 0.8

2 0.6
10 dCF y
= 5.5
dα
nD/U = 0.212 0.4
0
10 0.2
Spp

CF y

0
−2
10
−0.2

−4 −0.4
10
−0.6
−6
10 −0.8
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 −0.2 −0.1 0 0.1 0.2
nD/U tg(α)
Figure 4. Power spectral density of pressure coefficient at the Figure 5. Mean values of the transverse force coefficient at
midpoint of a side of the cylinder parallel to the flow. various angles of attack (wooden model, Re = 90,000).

an initial condition and recording the free decaying of the where m is the mass per unit length, ζ is the ratio-to-critical
oscillations. Theoretically the damping should be measured in structural damping, n0 is the natural frequency of transverse
the void and the contribution of still air is slightly nonlinear and oscillation, ρ is the air density, D the cross-flow section
increases with the amplitude of the oscillation. Consequently, dimension and ag is the galloping stability parameter, defined
this effect was minimized by considering small vibrations only, as:
with a fixed maximum amplitude of 1 mm. The effective mass dCFy
ag = (0) (2)
of the oscillating system (M) was calculated by adding several dα
sets of known masses and measuring the natural frequencies being CFy the transverse force coefficient (normalized with
according to the procedure outlined in [10]. respect to the model depth D). By indicating the Scruton number
as:
3 RESULTS 4π mζ
Sc = (3)
ρ D2
In the remaining part of the paper the following notation will be
adopted. The critical wind speed of galloping calculated with one can write:
2Sc
the quasi-steady theory will be denoted as Ug , reminding that: Ug = n0 D (4)
ag
8π mζ n0 Moreover, knowing the Strouhal number St of the cross section,
Ug = (1)
ρ Dag the Kármán-vortex resonance wind speed (or nominal critical

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4 4
10 10
Re = 5200 Re = 44000
3 3
10 10
Suu/u′2 [s]

Suu/u′2 [s]
2 2
10 10

1 1
10 10

0 0
10 10

−1 −1
10 10
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
nD/U nD/U
(a) (b)

Figure 6. Power spectral density at two different Reynolds numbers of the velocity fluctuations in the wake of the stationary
aluminum model measured with a hot-wire anemometer.

wind speed for VIV) can be written as:
n0 D
Ur = (5)
St
As a consequence, the ratio of the critical wind speed of quasi-
steady galloping to that of vortex induced vibration is related to
the value of the Scruton number through the following equation:
Ug 2St
= Sc
Ur ag
3.1 Static results
Static tests were performed to estimate the Strouhal number and
the transverse force coefficient needed to predict respectively the
VIV and quasi-steady galloping critical wind speeds. The power
spectral density of the lift coefficient measured on the wooden
section model (Figure 3) at various wind speeds, provided a
Strouhal number of 0.106. This result was confirmed by the
measurements of the pressure coefficient at the midpoint of a
side of the cylinder parallel to the flow (Figure 4). In the graphs
of Figure 3, in addition to the peaks corresponding to the main
vortex-shedding frequency and the natural bending frequency of
the model, the superharmonic of order three is evident in the lift
coefficient spectra. In Figure 3(b) the superharmonic of order
two is also visible. By contrast, in the power spectral density of
the pressure coefficient at the midpoint of the lower side of the
cylinder only the superharmonic of order two can be detected
along with the main vortex-shedding frequency.
The Strouhal number was also estimated by measuring with
a hot-wire anemometer the velocity fluctuations in the wake of
the smaller-scale aluminum model; the resulting value of the
Strouhal number is about 0.104. Figure 6 shows the power
spectral density of the velocity fluctuations at low and high
Reynolds numbers. For Re = UD/ν = 44, 000, being ν the air
kinematic viscosity, it is evident also the superharmonic of order
two of the Strouhal frequency.
The values of the Strouhal number obtained with both models
are in good agreement with most of the values reported in
the literature [4], but significantly higher than the Eurocode
prescription (St = 0.09).
Figure 5 reports the transverse force coefficient against the
angle of attack for the wooden model (D = 77 mm), evaluated for
a wind speed U = 17.6 m/s, corresponding to a Reynolds number
of 90,000. The symmetry of the curves highlights the quality of
the model. For α = 0◦ the drag coefficient is 1.76, which is in
good agreement with previous literature results [4]. It is worth
(6)
noting that, according to the quasi-steady theory, tg(α ) = ẏ/U,
being ẏ the plunging displacement velocity of the model.
As shown in Figure 5, the galloping stability parameter at zero
angle of attack is 5.5. A slightly lower value was obtained for
a Reynolds number of 64,000 (ag = 4.9). Consequently, in the
remaining part of the paper a nominal value of ag equal to 5
will be used in the calculations of the quasi-steady galloping
critical wind speed. The measured values of ag are higher than
1.7, provided by Eurocode 1 [3]. Nevertheless, they sound
reasonable if the data available in the literature for rectangular
cylinders with 1 ≤ B/D ≤ 2 are taken into account [4].
3.2 Aeroelastic results
The dynamic tests were performed by recording the cross-
flow displacement of the model at various wind speeds. The
flow velocity was both increased and decreased to look for the
possible presence of hysteretic phenomena. The first sets of
tests were performed on the larger-scale wooden model (D =
77 mm). In this case, by adding masses and adjusting the length
of the plate-springs the Scruton number was varied in the range
7 ÷ 46 (in Table 1 the main parameters of the configurations
tested are summarized). It is apparent in Figure 7 the interaction
of galloping and Kármán-vortex resonance: the oscillations
starting at Ur unrestrictedly linearly increase with the wind
speed, independently of the actual value of the mass-damping
parameter and therefore of the quasi-steady galloping wind
speed Ug (see Eq. 6). It is worth noting that, in cases D77-1 to
D77-5, Ug < Ur and therefore the so-called “quenching” effect is

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U/n0 D U/n0 D
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 2 3 4 5 6
0.16 0.06
1
D77−1 (Sc = 7) D77−2 (Sc = 8)
0.14 D77−2 (Sc = 8) D77−4 (Sc = 12) 0.197
0.05 B
D77−5 (Sc = 16) D77−5 (Sc = 16)
0.12 D77−6 (Sc = 28)
D77−7 (Sc = 46) 0.04
0.1 1
y′ /D

y′ /D
0.08 0.233 0.03

0.06 1
0.02
0.04 0.259
0.01 A
0.02
C
0 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
U/Ur U/Ur
(a) (b)

Figure 7. Standard deviation of cross-flow nondimensional displacements of the wooden model (D = 77 mm).

Table 1. Characteristics of the sets of measurements performed with the wooden model with D = 77 mm (M is the effective mass
of the oscillating system, m∗ = ρ D2 L/2M is the nondimensional mass ratio and Rer = Ur D/ν is the Reynolds number at the
Kármán-vortex resonance wind speed). A galloping stability parameter ag = 5 was employed to calculate the quasi-steady
galloping critical wind speed Ug .

# n0 M ζ m∗ · 10−5 Sc Ur Ug Ug /Ur Rer · 103

[Hz] [kg] [%] [-] [-] [m/s] [m/s] [-] [-]
D77-1 9.83 4.83 0.08 72.5 7 7.1 2.2 0.31 36.7
D77-2 9.80 4.83 0.09 72.5 8 7.1 2.4 0.33 36.6
D77-3 11.98 4.70 0.13 75.3 11 8.7 4.0 0.46 44.7
D77-4 11.72 4.92 0.14 72.2 12 8.5 4.5 0.53 43.7
D77-5 5.93 13.20 0.07 26.6 16 4.3 3.0 0.70 22.1
D77-6 9.94 12.86 0.13 27.3 28 7.2 8.8 1.23 37.1
D77-7 16.40 4.49 0.57 77.5 46 11.9 23.4 1.96 61.1

clear, that is the suppression of galloping due to vortex shedding
up to the resonance wind speed. By contrast, in case D77-7 the
strong interference of galloping and VIV is observed despite a
ratio of the critical wind speeds Ug /Ur of nearly 2.
As shown in the figure, for low values of the Scruton number
a velocity-restricted excitation appears at a wind speed around
Ur /3 (branch A), when the body starts to oscillate in a perfectly
sinusoidal fashion at the natural frequency n0 . Figure 7(b)
clarifies that the maximum amplitude of vibration decreases
by increasing the mass-damping parameter and this secondary
resonance of the system practically disappears for a Scruton
number of about 16 (although a very small bump can still
be seen), in agreement with previous results obtained with
another set-up [4]. Evident hysteretic effects were observed
by decreasing the wind speed, as highlighted by the arrows in
Figure 7(b). In addition, by slightly increasing the Scruton
number the oscillations start at the same reduced wind speed
but die out earlier. For a Scruton number around 8 the system is
able to jump to a higher branch (B) of the secondary resonance
for a wind speed close to Ur /2, but only if the wind speed is
increased very slowly, otherwise the excitation ceases (branch
C). A standard deviation of nondimensional displacement y′ /D
up to 0.03 was reached on branch A, whereas it attained 0.058
on branch B. The rate of increase of the oscillation amplitude on
branch A was slightly higher than for the main instability pattern
starting at Ur , while it was significantly lower on branch B. The
explanation for this 1/3 secondary resonance is offered by the
spectra of the lift coefficient measured on the stationary model
(Figure 3), where one can notice that a peak corresponding to
three times the Strouhal frequency is always present and can
then excite the elastically suspended model for a wind speed
equal to Ur /3.
The tests were repeated on the aluminum smaller-scale model
that allowed to obtain higher values of the Scruton number and
lower values of the Reynolds number, as summarized in Table 2.
In addition, with this model much larger nondimensional
displacements were possible. Figure 8 shows that for the
lower value of the Scruton number (Sc = 36), comparable
with the higher values reached with the wooden model, the
oscillations start at a wind speed slightly higher than Ur (around
1.18 Ur ) and their amplitude increases linearly with the wind
speed up to large values. It is worth noting that the slope
of the amplitude-velocity curve is slightly lower than that
found with the wooden model. This may be due to the much

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U/n0 D U/n0 D
0 20 40 60 80 100 5 10 15
0.6 0.1
D30−1 (Sc = 36)
D30−2 (Sc = 93)
0.5
D30−3 (Sc = 166)
0.075 D30−4 (Sc = 216)
0.4 D30−5 (Sc = 224) 0.174
D30−6 (Sc = 123)
1
y′ /D

y′ /D
0.3 0.05 D30−7 (Sc = 146)

1
0.2
0.025 0.151
0.1

0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2
U/Ur U/Ur

Figure 8. Standard deviation of cross-flow nondimensional displacements of the aluminum model (D = 30 mm).

Table 2. Characteristics of the sets of measurements performed with the wooden model with D = 30 mm. A galloping stability
parameter ag = 5 was employed to calculate the quasi-steady galloping critical wind speed Ug . It is worth noting that the
reference Reynolds number is higher for the last two test cases.

# n0 M ζ m∗ · 10−5 Sc Ur Ug Ug /Ur Rer · 103

[Hz] [kg] [%] [-] [-] [m/s] [m/s] [-] [-]
D30-1 8.98 5.82 0.05 9.5 36 2.5 3.9 1.54 5.1
D30-2 8.92 8.95 0.09 6.2 93 2.5 9.9 3.93 5.0
D30-3 8.70 11.88 0.12 4.6 166 2.5 17.3 7.03 5.0
D30-4 9.43 13.79 0.14 4.0 216 2.7 24.5 9.16 5.3
D30-5 9.45 13.79 0.14 4.0 224 2.7 25.4 9.51 5.3
D30-6 15.01 5.48 0.20 10.0 123 4.2 22.1 5.20 8.5
D30-7 15.19 5.48 0.23 9.9 146 4.3 26.6 6.18 8.6

lower reference value of the Reynolds number for this second
model (see Table 2) or to the reduced value of the blockage
ratio, as this instability feature seems to be very sensitive to
flow characteristics and boundary conditions during the tests.
By increasing significantly the Scruton number (Sc = 93) the
instability onset is slightly delayed and the amplitude-velocity
curve quickly leaves the linear trend and assumes a reduced
slope to presumably recover the pattern predicted by the quasi-
steady theory. A similar behaviour can be observed for Sc = 166
but with lower amplitudes and a flatter pattern. Finally, for
very high values of the Scruton number (Sc = 216 and 224) the
model is stable up to very high reduced wind speed and, after
a small bump in the amplitude-velocity curve in a range close
to the quasi-steady galloping critical wind speed, limit-cycle
oscillations appear. Nevertheless, prior to the instability onset
a significant decrease of the total damping of the system due to
negative aerodynamic damping was apparent. Therefore, a ratio
of the quasi-steady galloping critical wind speed to the Kármán-
vortex resonance one not lower than a threshold value falling in
the range 7 ÷ 9 was necessary to avoid such an interaction (see
Table 2), in agreement to what was observed at higher Reynolds
number with the wooden model on a different set-up [4].
The role played by the Reynolds number was also partially
investigated by increasing the stiffness of the suspension frames,
through a reduction of the length of the plate-springs, and
therefore the natural frequency of the system. The reference
Reynolds number passed from about 5000 to 8500. Two values
of the Scruton number were considered (Sc = 123 and 146).
Figure 8 shows that in this case the behaviour of the model
is more similar to that of the larger wooden model. In fact,
the oscillations appear in a less sudden way at Ur and then
linearly increase in amplitude with a slightly smaller slope than
for lower Reynolds number. Then, due to the high value of
the Scruton number, the amplitude-velocity curve leaves the
linear trend, at smaller amplitudes for higher values of the mass-
damping parameter, and shows a plateau prior to increasing
again, similarly to previous results with the wooden model [4].
Moreover, amplitude modulations can be noted at a Reynolds
number of 8500 (as observed with the wooden model) while
the oscillations are nearly harmonic from the beginning for
Rer = 5000. The modulations progressively reduce with the
wind speed and the records become nearly harmonic in the
previously mentioned amplitude plateau.
Figure 9 reports a series of results of velocity fluctuation
measurements in the wake of the oscillating aluminum model
performed with a hot-wire anemometer. At wind speeds
lower than the Kármán-vortex resonance one or also slightly
larger (Figure 9(a)) just the peak corresponding to the Strouhal

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nD/U nD/U
4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
10 10
U/Ur = 1.22 U/Ur = 1.25
3 3
10 10
Suu/u′2 [s]

Suu/u′2 [s]
2 2
10 10

1 1
10 10

0 0
10 10

−1 −1
10 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
n/n0 n/n0
(a) (b)

nD/U nD/U
4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
10 10
U/Ur = 1.4 U/Ur = 1.53
3 3
10 10
Suu/u′2 [s]

Suu/u′2 [s]

2 2
10 10

1 1
10 10

0 0
10 10

−1 −1
10 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
n/n0 n/n0
(c) (d)

Figure 9. Power spectral density at various wind speeds of the velocity fluctuations in the wake of the oscillating aluminum model
measured with a hot-wire anemometer (measurement set D30-1).

frequency can be detected. For U/Ur = 1.25, when significant
oscillations appear, a very narrow peak at the natural vibration
frequency of the model n0 becomes dominant. Nevertheless,
frequency capture does not occur as the peak corresponding
to the Strouhal frequency is still well evident (Figure 9(b)).
The Strouhal peak seems to be shifted to a value slightly
larger than 0.104 and its 1/3-subharmonic also appears. If
the wind speed is increased further this peak moves towards
higher frequencies (Figure 9(c)) and a sort of resonance with
the superharmonics of the motion frequency can be observed
(Figure 9(d)). The behaviour of the velocity fluctuations in
the wake of the model is summarized in Figure 10, where
one can see that at high wind speed the odd superharmonics
of the motion frequency become progressively dominant in
the spectra. A similar feature was observed in [10] with
pressure measurements on an oscillating square cylinder. In
addition, Figure 10 highlights the different characteristics of the
instability at low and high Reynolds number (consider that the
behaviour of the smaller aluminum model at a Reynolds number
around 8500 is similar to that of the wooden model at about
Rer = 36,000). In fact, left aside the secondary resonance due
the low Scruton number, for the measurement set D77-2 the
Strouhal law is smoothly abandoned around U/Ur = 1 and the
dominant velocity fluctuation frequency in the wake stabilizes at
the body motion frequency, that is around 0.98 · n0 . By contrast,
for the test case D30-1 the Strouhal law is violated for a wind
speed slightly higher than Ur , when the instability onsets and
the dominant velocity fluctuation frequency suddenly jumps to
about 0.99 · n0 .
Finally, Figure 11 shows the number of cycles of oscillation
necessary for the complete build-up of the excitation for
different measurement sets and flow speeds. The development
of the oscillations is very fast for the wooden model at high
Reynolds number and low Scruton number (measurement set
D77-1) and significant amplitude modulations can be observed
after the build-up. The oscillations develop more slowly at small

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U/n0 D phenomena not lower than a threshold value falling in the

6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 range 7 ÷ 9 was necessary to avoid such an interaction. This
D77−2 condition corresponds to large values of the Scruton number
D30−1 and from the practical engineering point of view it means that
5
structures with not so small values of damping and mass may be
4 prone to galloping-type oscillations in a range of wind speeds
where small-amplitude vortex-induced vibrations are expected.
n/n0

3 This dangerous scenario is not accounted for by Eurocode 1,

which excludes the possibility of interaction between VIV and
2 galloping if the ratio of the two individual critical wind speeds
is outside the range 0.7 ÷ 1.5.
1 Several nonlinear features of the fluid-structure coupled
system were highlighted and one of the most remarkable is
0 surely the excitation observed for low values of the Scruton
0 1 2 3 4 number in a wind speed range starting at one third of the
U/Ur main Kármán-vortex resonance velocity. Results showed that
significant amplitudes of oscillation can be obtained and in some
Figure 10. Variation with the wind speed of the dominant
cases, as they can occur at very low wind speeds, such vibrations
frequency of velocity fluctuation in the wake of the
should be considered in the structural design, although generally
oscillating models measured with a hot-wire anemometer.
not accounted for by codes and standards.
Finally, measurements of velocity fluctuations in the wake of
0.4
the oscillating models shed some light on the actual mechanism
of excitation during the VIV-galloping instability. In particular,
0.35 D77-1 - U/Ur = 1.47 the role of vortex shedding and of the superharmonics of the
D30-1 - U/Ur = 1.42 motion frequency components was clarified.
0.3 D30-1 - U/Ur = 1.89
D30-1 - U/Ur = 2.72 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
0.25
D30-6 - U/Ur = 1.15
The Authors wish to thank Dr. Davide Allori, Tommaso
y′ /D

0.2 D30-6 - U/Ur = 1.31

D30-6 - U/Ur
0.15 D30-6 - U/Ur
D30-6 - U/Ur
0.1
0.05
0 [1] H. Glauert, “The rotation of an airfoil about a fixed axis,” Reports and
0 500 1000 1500
n0 t
Figure 11. Variation of the amplitude of oscillation during
build-up tests.
Reynolds number (measurement set D30-1) and, as previously
noted, no amplitude modulation is evident. At higher Scruton
number (measurement set D30-6) the build-up requires even
more cycles of oscillation and in the plateau of the amplitude-
velocity curve (Figure 8) it is independent of the reduced
velocity. One can also remark that for this measurement set,
at slightly higher Reynolds number, the displacement time
histories after build-up show again amplitude modulations prior
to entering in the previously mentioned plateau.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The results of wind tunnel tests on a rectangular 3:2 cylinder
demonstrated the strong susceptibility of this cross section to
a combined VIV-galloping instability. The effect of Reynolds
number was partially investigated by the use of two section
models at different scales. It was observed that a ratio
between the theoretical critical velocities for the two individual
= 1.39 Massai and Luca Pigolotti for the help during the experimental
= 1.78 campaign and Dr. Günter Schewe, from the German Aerospace
= 2.14 Centre (DLR), Göttingen, Germany, for the advice in developing
the aeroelastic set-up.
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[8] C. F. Cowdrey, “A note on the use of end plates to prevent three-
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