• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.123-130
• /
• 2019

The flow around a curved riser exposed to the current in various directions was investigated at a Reynolds number of 100 using a numerical simulation. The present study found that the flow features of the curved riser were distinct from those of a straight riser as a result of its large radius of curvature. Namely, there were various wake patterns according to the flow's incident angle. As the incident angle increased from $0^{\circ}$ to $90^{\circ}$, a two-row street of vortices that developed along the centerline of the curved riser became more apparent. However, when the incident angle approached $180^{\circ}$ from $90^{\circ}$, these vortices were completely suppressed by the interaction between the wake and an axial flow induced by the curvature of the riser. To identify this feature, the sectional force coefficients were also considered, and it was found that the force coefficients could be different from those found in a sectional analysis based on the strip theory when investigating vortex-induced vibration. As a result, this kind of study would be important to realistically estimate the riser VIV (vortex-induced vibration) and fatigue life, and a new force coefficient database that includes the three-dimensional effect should be established.