Abstract

The coupling of engineering structures with the wind or water currents flowing around them can generate so-called flow-induced vibrations, resulting in periodic and often large solid displacements and deformations. Until recently, such vibrations have been mostly studied from a control or stability point of view, to avoid or mitigate the resulting structural damage and fatigue. Yet recently, a new light is being shed on such fluid-solid interactions (FSI) as potential energy harvesting mechanisms to exploit the underlying energy transfer to power a generator. Here, we will present some of our recent work on two classical FSI problems (VIV of flexible cables and flapping flexible flags) as energy harvesting systems, highlighting fundamental principles regarding the efficiency of such systems and their optimisation.