Unsteady pressure measurements on an oscillating slender prism using a forced vibration technique

The unsteady aerodynamic forces acting on a slender prism were investigated using a forced vibration technique. The prism was driven to oscillate by an actuator and the unsteady distributed pressures, under different wind velocities and oscillation amplitudes, were measured. The measurement was calibrated with respect to driving oscillation, aerodynamic force coefficient, as well as motion-induced force coefficient. Then, the generalized and local aerodynamic force coefficients and the motion-induced force coefficients of the prism, which are functions of reduced wind velocity and oscillation amplitude, were analyzed. It shows that the effects of structural motion on the coefficients are significant in the crosswind direction while the effects are slight in the along-wind direction. Furthermore, in the crosswind direction, the coefficients tend to increase with oscillation amplitudes at low wind speeds while they are at a quasi-steady state at high wind speeds. These characteristics were analyzed from the perspectives of generalized and pointwise spectra, force-response coherences and Strouhal numbers of the prism. The study advances the understanding of the effect of structural motion on three-dimensional prisms, which can be utilized to improve response predictions of the prisms. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd