Flow past rotating circular cylinders and flow-induced vibration (FIV) of rotating circular cylinders are reviewed comprehensively in this paper. The review is mainly focused on the wake characteristics and FIV response regimes of rotating cylinders. Two-dimensional dynamic wake patterns at various Reynolds numbers and rotation rates have been classified into modes I and II wakes. The wake is steady for a certain range of rotation rates, which is a function of Reynolds number. Great efforts have been made to identify the transition modes from two-dimensional to three-dimensional wake due to three-dimensional instability. Some studies have been conducted to investigate the laminar-to-turbulent transition of the shear layers in the critical regime, but the understanding of wake patterns in the fully turbulent wake regime is still incomplete. Experimental studies of FIV of rotating circular cylinders were limited to one-degree-of-freedom vibration. Numerical studies of FIV have been conducted for both one- and two-degree-of-freedoms, but limited to low Reynolds numbers. Multiple lock-in is a distinct feature of two-degree-of-freedom FIV of a rotating cylinder. Since the FIV of a rotating cylinder has a significantly higher amplitude, it has great potential for energy harvesting from FIV. After reviewing the existing studies and identifying their limitations, some future research work was recommended in the conclusion section.
Zhao et al. (2026) studied this question.