APRIL, 2010:
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FEBRUARY 2, 2010:
This is the first 4-cylinder VIVACE Converter that has been fabricated. It is not optimized. Professor Michael Bernitsas directed three PhD students, Jim Chang, Eun Soo Kim, and Hongrae Park, in the design fabrication of a set of prototypes based on the current understanding of multi-cylinder galloping and the limitations of the MRELab.
The model behaves like a 4-cylinder reciprocating engine where water is all at once: the fuel, crankshaft, camshaft. Flow speed is 1.3m/sec = 2.6 knots and amplitude of each cylinder is about 3 diameters (total stroke of 6 diameters).
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OCTOBER 2009:
Large scale VIVACE converter model operating in the University of Michigan towing tank.
Flow Speed: 2.0 knots (1.03 m/s)
The flashing light bulb displayed at the top right corner of the video is powered by the moving cylinders. The bulb is powered by a simple power takeoff system that was connected to the cylinders for demonstration purposes.
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