Experimental Study on a Fluid-Structure Interaction Reference Test Case

Experimental studies on reference test cases are of capital importance to support the development of models and coupling strategies for numerical simulations on fluid-structure interaction problems. From the experimental view point, the study of the coupled unsteady fluid flow and structure motion requires specially adapted test rigs and measurement techniques to obtain accurate time-resolved results. This demand has triggered the present contribution to design and to study a two-dimensional reference test case on laminar fluid-structure interaction. A new experimental facility to be operated with high viscous fluids was build exclusively for the present study and a Particle Image Velocimetry system was adapted to measure both the periodical flow velocity field and the structure deflection modes. Finally the reference experiment was defined and performed. An extended investigation was conducted on the two-dimensional reference structure model at a Reynolds number of 170 and lead to very reproducible and accurate results compiled in a data base.