Hydrodynamic interaction between a fixed circular cylinder and freely floating cylinders are studied experimentally in the present paper. Six different moving cylinders are used with circular, square and rectangular cross-sectional shapes of various dimensions, Investigation is concentrated on the force acting on the fixed cylinder and motion of the floating cylinder, Comparison of the measured velocity of the moving cylinder shows reasonable agreement with the results of the potential flow model However, the force on the fixed cylinder is somewhat below the predicted values, Reasons for the over prediction of the theoretical model are attributed to viscous effects and are discussed.
Two solid bodies approaching each other in fluid are not very rare in nature, Such a case can be found in military application when a torpedo is launched toward another ship or submarine in the sea. A very common example which is of grave concern is the flow of ice mass in arctic or subarctic region where oil platforms are located. As a large floating ice floe approaches an offshore structure, the water is deflected around the structure. Because the trajectory of the ice floe is not necessarily the same as the pathline especially when the latter are curved, there is no assurance that the ice floe will not impact the structure, Even though the fluid may be deflected around the structure, the ice floe will be influenced by wind, viscous and inertial forces including the Coriolis force that needs be taken into account in the case of large-scale motions over great distances Such ice masses are a direct threat to the platform structure and act as a catalytic motivator to study the two-body interaction problem Such problem was studied theoretically by Yamamoto (1976), Isaacson and Cheung (1988) and later by Landweber, Chwang and Guo (1991).