What is it about?
Flowing water—such as ocean currents, tides, and rivers—contains a huge amount of renewable energy. When water flows past an object like a cylinder, it creates swirling patterns called vortices. These vortices can make the object shake or vibrate. Engineers usually try to stop this vibration because it can damage structures. In this study, we take a different approach: instead of fighting the vibration, we use it to generate energy. We use computer simulations to study a cylinder that is allowed to vibrate and spin at the same time in moving water. The vibration comes naturally from the flow, and the spinning is carefully controlled. We examine how changing the spinning speed and the mechanical resistance of the system affects how much energy can be harvested. The goal is to find the conditions where the motion becomes most useful for producing power.
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Why is it important?
Most water-based energy technologies rely on turbines, which can be large, complex, and costly. They may also disturb marine life or require strong, steady flows. Vibration-based energy systems are smaller, simpler, and can work in slower or more variable flows—but until now, their efficiency has been limited. This research shows that adding controlled spinning motion can greatly increase the amount of energy produced from flow-induced vibration. Under the right conditions, the energy output improves by nearly 50% compared with non-spinning systems. At the same time, the study identifies limits where spinning becomes ineffective, helping designers avoid wasted energy. By clearly mapping out what works and what does not, this work provides practical guidance for developing compact and efficient clean energy devices that could be deployed in rivers, tidal channels, or offshore environments.
Perspectives
The findings suggest new ways to design small-scale, adaptable renewable energy devices that work with nature rather than against it. In the future, spinning and vibrating energy harvesters could be installed on existing marine structures or combined into networks to supply local power. Beyond energy applications, the study also improves our understanding of how moving water interacts with structures—knowledge that can help engineers design safer offshore platforms, bridges, and coastal infrastructure. More broadly, this work highlights how rethinking “undesirable” physical effects, such as vibration, can lead to innovative and sustainable engineering solutions. Sometimes, the smartest way forward is not to eliminate motion—but to use it wisely.
Dr. Heng-Chuan Kan
National Center for High-performance Computing, National Applied Research Laboratories
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Numerical study of vortex-induced vibration energy harvesting using a spinning cylinder, Applied Ocean Research, January 2026, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.apor.2025.104914.
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