Numerical study of vortex shedding from a rotating cylinder immersed in a uniform flow field

A numerical study is made of the unsteady two‐dimensional, incompressible flow past an impulsively started translating and rotating circular cylinder. The Reynolds number (Re) and the rotating‐to‐translating speed ratio (α) are two controlled parameters, and the influence of their different combinations on vortex shedding from the cylinder is investigated by the numerical scheme sketched below. Associated with the streamfunction (ψ)–vorticity (ω) formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations, the Poisson equation for ψ is solved by a Fourier/finite‐analytic, separation of variable approach. This approach allows one to attenuate the artificial far‐field boundary, and also yields a global conditioning on the wall vorticity in response to the no‐slip condition. As for the vorticity transport equation, spatial discretization is done by means of finite difference in which the convection terms are handled with the aid of an ENO (essentially non‐oscillatory)‐like data reconstruction process. Finally, the interior vorticity is updated by an explicit, second‐order Runge–Kutta method. Present computations fall into two categories. One with Re=10³ and α≤3; the other with Re=10⁴ and α≤2. Comparisons with other numerical or physical experiments are included. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suppression of vortex shedding for flow around a circular cylinder using optimal control

Adjoint formulation is employed for the optimal control of flow around a rotating cylinder, governed by the unsteady Navier–Stokes equations. The main objective consists of suppressing Karman vortex shedding in the wake of the cylinder by controlling the angular velocity of the rotating body, which can be constant in time or time‐dependent. Since the numerical control problem is ill‐posed, regularization is employed. An empirical logarithmic law relating the regularization coefficient to the Reynolds number was derived for 60?Re?140. Optimal values of the angular velocity of the cylinder are obtained for Reynolds numbers ranging from Re=60 to Re=1000. The results obtained by the computational optimal control method agree with previously obtained experimental and numerical observations. A significant reduction of the amplitude of the variation of the drag coefficient is obtained for the optimized values of the rotation rate. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reynolds Number Effects on the Coherent Dynamics of the Turbulent Horseshoe Vortex System

The adverse pressure gradient induced by a surface-mounted obstacle in a turbulent boundary layer causes the approaching flow to separate and form a dynamically rich horseshoe vortex system (HSV) in the junction of the obstacle with the wall. The Reynolds number of the flow (Re) is one of the important parameters that control the rich coherent dynamics of the vortex, which are known to give rise to low-frequency, bimodal fluctuations of the velocity field (Devenport and Simpson, J Fluid Mech 210:23–55, 1990; Paik et al., Phys Fluids 19:045107, 2007). We carry out detached eddy simulations (DES) of the flow past a circular cylinder mounted on a rectangular channel for Re = 2.0 × 10⁴ and 3.9 × 10⁴ (Dargahi, Exp Fluids 8:1–12, 1989) in order to systematically investigate the effect of the Reynolds number on the HSV dynamics. The computed results are compared with each other and with previous experimental and computational results for a related junction flow at a much higher Reynolds number (Re = 1.15 × 10⁵) (Devenport and Simpson, J Fluid Mech 210:23–55, 1990; Paik et al., Phys Fluids 19:045107, 2007). The computed results reveal significant variations with Re in terms of the mean-flow quantities, turbulence statistics, and the coherent dynamics of the turbulent HSV. For Re = 2.0 × 10⁴ the HSV system consists of a large number of necklace-type vortices that are shed periodically at higher frequencies than those observed in the Re = 3.9 × 10⁴ case. For this latter case the number of large-scale vortical structures that comprise the instantaneous HSV system is reduced significantly and the flow dynamics becomes quasi-periodic. For both cases, we show that the instantaneous flowfields are dominated by eruptions of wall-generated vorticity associated with the growth of hairpin vortices that wrap around and disorganize the primary HSV system. The intensity and frequency of these eruptions, however, appears to diminish rapidly with decreasing Re. In the high Re case the HSV system consists of a single, highly energetic, large-scale necklace vortex that is aperiodically disorganized by the growth of the hairpin mode. Regardless of the Re, we find pockets in the junction region within which the histograms of velocity fluctuations are bimodal as has also been observed in several previous experimental studies.     

Global linear stability analysis of time‐averaged flows

The global linear stability analysis (LSA) of stationary/steady flows has been applied to various flows in the past and is fairly well understood. The LSA of time‐averaged flows is explored in this paper. It is shown that the LSA of time‐averaged flows can result in useful information regarding its stability. The method is applied to study flow past a cylinder at Reynolds number (Re) beyond the onset of vortex shedding. Compared with the direct numerical simulation, LSA of the Re=100 steady flow severely underpredicts the vortex shedding frequency. However, the LSA of the time‐averaged flow results in the correct value of the non‐dimensional frequency, St, of the associated instability. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Grid‐free surface vorticity method applied to flow induced vibration of flexible cylinders

In order to study cross flow induced vibration of heat exchanger tube bundles, a new fluid–structure interaction model based on surface vorticity method is proposed. With this model, the vibration of a flexible cylinder is simulated at Re=2.67 × 10⁴, the computational results of the cylinder response, the fluid force, the vibration frequency, and the vorticity map are presented. The numerical results reproduce the amplitude‐limiting and non‐linear (lock‐in) characteristics of flow‐induced vibration. The maximum vibration amplitude as well as its corresponding lock‐in frequency is in good agreement with experimental results. The amplitude of vibration can be as high as 0.88D for the case investigated. As vibration amplitude increases, the amplitude of the lift force also increases. With enhancement of vibration amplitude, the vortex pattern in the near wake changes significantly. This fluid–structure interaction model is further applied to simulate flow‐induced vibration of two tandem cylinders and two side‐by‐side cylinders at similar Reynolds number. Promising and reasonable results and predictions are obtained. It is hopeful that with this relatively simple and computer time saving method, flow induced vibration of a large number of flexible tube bundles can be successfully simulated. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow past a cylinder: shear layer instability and drag crisis

Flow past a circular cylinder for Re=100 to 10⁷ is studied numerically by solving the unsteady incompressible two‐dimensional Navier–Stokes equations via a stabilized finite element formulation. It is well known that beyond Re ～ 200 the flow develops significant three‐dimensional features. Therefore, two‐dimensional computations are expected to fall well short of predicting the flow accurately at high Re. It is fairly well accepted that the shear layer instability is primarily a two‐dimensional phenomenon. The frequency of the shear layer vortices, from the present computations, agree quite well with the Re^0.67 variation observed by other researchers from experimental measurements. The main objective of this paper is to investigate a possible relationship between the drag crisis (sudden loss of drag at Re ～ 2 × 10⁵) and the instability of the separated shear layer. As Re is increased the transition point of shear layer, beyond which it is unstable, moves upstream. At the critical Reynolds number the transition point is located very close to the point of flow separation. As a result, the shear layer eddies cause mixing of the flow in the boundary layer. This energizes the boundary layer and leads to its reattachment. The delay in flow separation is associated with narrowing of wake, increase in Reynolds shear stress near the shoulder of the cylinder and a significant reduction in the drag and base suction coefficients. The spatial and temporal power spectra for the kinetic energy of the Re=10⁶ flow are computed. As in two‐dimensional isotropic turbulence, E(k) varies as k^?5/3 for wavenumbers higher than energy injection scale and as k^?3 for lower wavenumbers. The present computations suggest that the shear layer vortices play a major role in the transition of boundary layer from laminar to turbulent state. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of Three-Dimensional Bluff-Body Flows Using the Vortex Particle and Boundary Element Methods

Recent contributions to the 3-D vortex method for bluff-body flows are presented. The numerical method--a vortex method combined with a boundary element method--is briefy reviewed. It is applied to direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the flow past a sphere (Re= 300, 500 and 1000). The on-going work to extend the method towards vortex-based large-eddy simulation (LES) for high Reynolds number flows is also presented. Preliminary results for the flow past a hemisphere are discussed.     

High-fidelity simulations of moving and flexible airfoils at low Reynolds numbers

The present paper highlights results derived from the application of a high-fidelity simulation technique to the analysis of low-Reynolds-number transitional flows over moving and flexible canonical configurations motivated by small natural and man-made flyers. This effort addresses three separate fluid dynamic phenomena relevant to small fliers, including: laminar separation and transition over a stationary airfoil, transition effects on the dynamic stall vortex generated by a plunging airfoil, and the effect of flexibility on the flow structure above a membrane airfoil. The specific cases were also selected to permit comparison with available experimental measurements. First, the process of transition on a stationary SD7003 airfoil section over a range of Reynolds numbers and angles of attack is considered. Prior to stall, the flow exhibits a separated shear layer which rolls up into spanwise vortices. These vortices subsequently undergo spanwise instabilities, and ultimately breakdown into fine-scale turbulent structures as the boundary layer reattaches to the airfoil surface. In a time-averaged sense, the flow displays a closed laminar separation bubble which moves upstream and contracts in size with increasing angle of attack for a fixed Reynolds number. For a fixed angle of attack, as the Reynolds number decreases, the laminar separation bubble grows in vertical extent producing a significant increase in drag. For the lowest Reynolds number considered (Re _c  = 10⁴), transition does not occur over the airfoil at moderate angles of attack prior to stall. Next, the impact of a prescribed high-frequency small-amplitude plunging motion on the transitional flow over the SD7003 airfoil is investigated. The motion-induced high angle of attack results in unsteady separation in the leading edge and in the formation of dynamic-stall-like vortices which convect downstream close to the airfoil. At the lowest value of Reynolds number (Re _c  = 10⁴), transition effects are observed to be minor and the dynamic stall vortex system remains fairly coherent. For Re _c  = 4 × 10⁴, the dynamic-stall vortex system is laminar at is inception, however shortly afterwards, it experiences an abrupt breakdown associated with the onset of spanwise instability effects. The computed phased-averaged structures for both values of Reynolds number are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. Finally, the effect of structural compliance on the unsteady flow past a membrane airfoil is investigated. The membrane deformation results in mean camber and large fluctuations which improve aerodynamic performance. Larger values of lift and a delay in stall are achieved relative to a rigid airfoil configuration. For Re _c = 4.85 × 10⁴, it is shown that correct prediction of the transitional process is critical to capturing the proper membrane structural response.     

Optimized incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics methods and validations

The solution of the Poisson's equation used by the incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) methods for estimating the pressure field is expensive in CPU time. The CPU time, consumed by the inversion of the operator ∇(1/ρ∇) and the estimation of the right hand side of the Poisson's equation, increases with the number N of particles used in a purely Lagrangian framework. In this work, this default of ISPH methods is overcome by solving the Poisson's equation on a Cartesian grid. This SPH-mesh coupling is equivalent to the particle in cell method. In a first step, in order to analyze its efficiency, the optimized version of two ISPH methods (divergence free and density invariant) is compared with the standard weakly compressible SPH method through two benchmarks of incompressible bidimensional flows characterized by the Reynolds number Re, Lamb-Oseen vortex (10 ≤Re≤ 100) and lid-driven cavity flow (100 ≤Re≤ 1000). In a second step, the numerical results obtained by the three SPH methods are compared to laboratory experimental data of a dam break flow in order to show the performance of the SPH-mesh coupling in a practical and complex flow problem. As in the configuration of the experimental setup, the numerical results are obtained for a Reynolds number Re = 3.8 10⁶.     

A moving frame of reference algorithm for fluid/structure interaction of rotating and translating bodies

A mathematical and numerical formulation is derived for fluid/structure interaction problems involving arbitrary geometries relevant to the simulation of bridge deck instabilities due to cross winds. A translating and rotating moving frame of reference is attached to the body to utilize an efficient fixed mesh spectral/hp element solver. The formulation is validated against experiments with flow simulations of circular cylinders at Reynolds numbers of 100–400 undergoing free and forced motion in the transverse and in‐line directions. The well‐documented phenomena of vortex lock‐in is captured. The formulation is then applied a rectangular body at Re=250 under forced and free motion the latter of which demonstrates torsional galloping. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow past a square cylinder at low Reynolds numbers

Results are presented for the flow past a stationary square cylinder at zero incidence for Reynolds number, Re ? 150. A stabilized finite‐element formulation is employed to discretize the equations of incompressible fluid flow in two‐dimensions. For the first time, values of the laminar separation Reynolds number, Re_s, and separation angle, θ_s, at Re_s are predicted. Also, the variation of θ_s with Re is presented. It is found that the steady separation initiates at Re = 1.15. Contrary to the popular belief that separation originates at the rear sharp corners, it is found to originate from the base point, i.e. θ_s=180^° at Re = Re_s. For Re > 5, θ_s approaches the limit of 135 ^°. The length of the separation bubble increases approximately linearly with increasing Re. The drag coefficient varies as Re^?0.66. Flow characteristics at Re ? 40 are also presented for elliptical cylinders of aspect ratios 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1 (circle) having the same characteristic dimension as the square and major axis oriented normal to the free‐stream. Compared with a circular cylinder, the flow separates at a much lower Re from a square cylinder leading to the formation of a bigger wake (larger bubble length and width). Consequently, at a given Re, the drag on a square cylinder is more than the drag of a circular cylinder. This suggests that a cylinder with square section is more bluff than the one with circular section. Among all the cylinder shapes studied, the square cylinder with sharp corners generates the largest amount of drag. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LES and RANS for Turbulent Flow over Arrays of Wall-Mounted Obstacles

Large-eddy simulation (LES) has been applied to calculate the turbulent flow over staggered wall-mounted cubes and staggered random arrays of obstacles with area density 25%, at Reynolds numbers between 5 × 10³ and 5 10⁶, based on the free stream velocity and the obstacle height. Re = 5 × 10³ data were intensively validated against direct numerical simulation (DNS) results at the same Re and experimental data obtained in a boundary layer developing over an identical roughness and at a rather higher Re. The results collectively confirm that Reynolds number dependency is very weak, principally because the surface drag is predominantly form drag and the turbulence production process is at scales comparable to the roughness element sizes. LES is thus able to simulate turbulent flow over the urban-like obstacles at high Re with grids that would be far too coarse for adequate computation of corresponding smooth-wall flows. Comparison between LES and steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) results are included, emphasising that the latter are inadequate, especially within the canopy region.     

Numerical solutions of 2‐D steady incompressible driven cavity flow at high Reynolds numbers

Numerical calculations of the 2‐D steady incompressible driven cavity flow are presented. The Navier–Stokes equations in streamfunction and vorticity formulation are solved numerically using a fine uniform grid mesh of 601 × 601. The steady driven cavity flow solutions are computed for Re ? 21 000 with a maximum absolute residuals of the governing equations that were less than 10^?10. A new quaternary vortex at the bottom left corner and a new tertiary vortex at the top left corner of the cavity are observed in the flow field as the Reynolds number increases. Detailed results are presented and comparisons are made with benchmark solutions found in the literature. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three-dimensional LDA measurements in the impeller region of a turbulently stirred tank

Three-dimensional, angle-resolved LDA measurements of the turbulent flow field (Re = 2.9 × 10⁴) in the vicinity of a Rushton turbine in a baffled mixing tank have been performed. For this goal, a procedure for accurate beam alignment, based on a submerged micro-mirror system, has been developed. Results on the average flow field as well as on the complete set of Reynolds stresses are presented. The anisotropy of the turbulence has been characterized by the invariants of the anisotropy tensor. The trailing vortex structure, which is characteristic for the flow induced by a Rushton turbine, is demonstrated to be associated with strong, anisotropic turbulent activity. Received: 14 September 1998/Accepted: 22 February 1999     

Formation of a 2D vortex pair and its 3D breakup: an experimental study

 Vortex pairs are studied using a dye tracing visualisation technique and a particle tracking velocimetry system. The vortex pairs are produced by gravity induced inlets of water issued through a uniform gap. The inlet Reynolds number is Re=Ud/ν≈875 in all tests (d being the gap width and U the cross sectional mean velocity), i.e. the flow is in the laminar regime. Initially, the dipolar vortex structure is two-dimensional, but after travelling a distance of a few times its own width, the flow structure becomes unstable, breaks up and changes into a three-dimensional flow structure. The breakup appears to be caused by an axial flow in the core centres of each vortex of the dipolar structure. These axial flows are induced by boundary effects related to the von Karman viscous pump. After the breakup, it is believed that a vortex ring is formed through reconnection of rudiments from the dipolar structure mediated by the wall induced vorticity. Received: 20 November 1995/Accepted: 14 November 1996     

Numerical study of buoyancy- and thermocapillary-driven flows in a cavity

Thermocapillary- and buoyancy-driven convection in open cavities with differentially heated endwalls is investigated by numerical solutions of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the energy equation. We studied the thermocapillary and buoyancy convection in the cavities, filled with low-Prandtl-number fluids, with two aspect-ratiosA=1 and 4, Grashof number up to 10⁵ and Reynolds number ⋎Re⋎≤10⁴. Our results show that thermocapillary can have a quite significant effect on the stability of a primarily buoyancy-driven flow, as well as on the flow structures and dynamic behavior for both additive effect (i.e., positiveRe) and opposing effect (i.e., negativeRe).     

Unsteady PTV velocity field past an airfoil solved with DNS: Part 1. Algorithm of hybrid simulation and hybrid velocity field at <Emphasis Type="Italic">Re</Emphasis> ≈ 10<Superscript>3</Superscript>

We develop a hybrid unsteady-flow simulation technique combining direct numerical simulation (DNS) and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) and demonstrate its capabilities by investigating flows past an airfoil. We rectify instantaneous PTV velocity fields in a least-squares sense so that they satisfy the equation of continuity, and feed them to the DNS by equating the computational time step with the frame rate of the time-resolved PTV system. As a result, we can reconstruct unsteady velocity fields that satisfy the governing equations based on experimental data, with the resolution comparable to numerical simulation. In addition, unsteady pressure distribution can be solved simultaneously. In this study, particle velocities are acquired on a laser-light sheet in a water tunnel, and unsteady flow fields are reconstructed with the hybrid algorithm solving the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in two dimensions. By performing the hybrid simulation, we investigate nominally two-dimensional flows past the NACA0012 airfoil at low Reynolds numbers. In part 1, we introduce the algorithm of the proposed technique and discuss the characteristics of hybrid velocity fields. In particular, we focus on a vortex shedding phenomenon under a deep stall condition (α = 15°) at Reynolds numbers of Re = 1000 and 1300, and compare the hybrid velocity fields with those computed with two-dimensional DNS. In part 2, the extension to higher Reynolds numbers is considered. The accuracy of the hybrid simulation is evaluated by comparing with independent experimental results at various angles of attack and Reynolds numbers up to Re = 10⁴. The capabilities of the hybrid simulation are also compared with two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) solutions in part 2. In the first part of these twin papers, we demonstrate that the hybrid velocity field approaches the PTV velocity field over time. We find that intensive alternate vortex shedding past the airfoil, which is predicted by the two-dimensional DNS, is substantially suppressed in the hybrid simulation and the resultant flow field is similar to the PTV velocity field, which is projection of the three-dimensional velocity field on the streamwise plane. We attempt to identify the motion that originates three-dimensional flow patterns by highlighting the deviation of the PTV velocity field from the two-dimensional governing equations at each snapshot. The results indicate that the intensive spots of the deviation appear in the regions in which three-dimensional instabilities are induced in the shear layer separated from the pressure side.     

A rotating elliptic airfoil in fluid at rest and in a parallel freestream

This paper reports results of DPIV measurements on a two-dimensional elliptic airfoil rotating about its own axis of symmetry in a fluid at rest and in a parallel freestream. In the former case, we examined three rotating speeds (Re _c,Ω = 400, 1,000 and 2,000), and in the later case, four rotating speeds (Ro _c,Ω = 2.4, 1.2, 0.6 and 0.4), together with two freestream velocities (Re _c,u  = 200 and 1,000) and two starting configurations of the airfoil (i.e., chord parallel to (α ₀ = 0°) or normal (α ₀ = 90°) to the freestream). Results show that a rotating airfoil in a stationary fluid produces two distinct types of vortex structures depending on the Reynolds number. The first type occurs at the lowest Reynolds number (Re _c,Ω = 400), where vortices shed from the two edges or tips of the airfoil dissipated quickly, resulting in the airfoil rotating in a layer of diffused vorticity. The second type occurs at higher Reynolds numbers (i.e., Re _c,Ω = 1,000 and 2,000), where the corresponding vortices rotated together with the airfoil. Due to the vortex suction effect, the torque characteristics are likely to be heavily damped for the first type because of the rapidly subsiding vortex shedding, and more oscillatory for the second type due to persistent presence of tip vortices. In a parallel freestream, increasing the tip-speed ratio (V/U) of the airfoil (i.e., decreasing the Rossby number, Ro _c,Ω) transformed the flow topology from periodic vortex shedding at Ro _c,Ω = 2.4 to the generation of a “hovering vortex” at Ro _c,Ω = 0.6 and 0.4. The presence of the hovering vortex, which has not been reported in literature before, is likely to enhance the lift characteristics of the airfoil. Freestream Reynolds number is found to have minimal effect on the vortex formation and shedding process, although it enhances shear layer instability and produces more small-scale flow structures that affect the dynamics of the hovering vortex. Likewise, initial starting configuration of the airfoil, while affecting the flow transient during the initial phase of rotation, has insignificant effect on the overall flow topology. Unfortunately, technical constraint of our apparatus prevented us from carrying out complimentary force measurements; nevertheless, the results presented herein, which are more extensive than those computed by Lugt and Ohring (1977), will provide useful benchmark data, from which more advanced numerical calculations can be carried out to ascertain the corresponding force characteristics, particularly for those conditions with the presence of hovering vortex.     

The effect of a small isolated roughness element on the forces on a sphere in uniform flow

The effect of an isolated roughness element on the forces on a sphere was examined for a Reynolds number range of 5 × 10⁴ < Re < 5 × 10⁵ using a novel sting-mounted sphere apparatus. The roughness element was a circular cylinder, and its width and height was varied to be 1, 2, and 4% of the sphere diameter. At subcritical Re, a lateral force is produced in the direction of the roughness, while at supercritical Re, the force is in the opposite direction. This is caused by asymmetric boundary layer separation, as shown using particle image velocimetry. At supercritical Re, a roughness element that is only 1% the sphere diameter produces a lift to drag ratio of almost one. It was found that the isolated roughness element has the largest effect on the lateral forces when it is located between a streamwise angle of about 40° and 80°. In addition to the mean forces, the unsteady forces were also measured. It was found that at subcritical Re, vortex shedding is aligned to the plane of the roughness element. In addition, the probability distribution of the forces was nearly Gaussian for subcritical Re, but for supercritical Re, the skewness and kurtosis deviate from Gaussian, and the details are dependent on the roughness size. A simple model developed for the vortical structure formed behind the roughness element can be extended to explain aspects of nominally smooth sphere flow, in which external disturbances perturb the sphere boundary layer in an azimuthally local sense. These results also form the basis of comparison for an investigation into the effectiveness of a moving isolated roughness element for manipulating sphere flow.