An experimental study of the effect of tube-to-tube ties on fluidelastic instability in an in-line tube array

An experimental study was conducted on the effect of tube-to-tube ties on t he fluidelastic instability of an in-line tube array with a streamwise pitc h ratio of 1.33 and a transverse pitch ratio of 2.0. Various arrangements o f tubes clamped in the streamwise direction were examined. The results show ed that clipping two tubes together had a stabilizing effect, but also exhi bited substantial hysteresis. On the other hand, longitudinal clipping of t hree, four, or six tubes together increased the fluidelastic stability thre shold by a factor of more than three. [S0094-9930(00)01501-8].