Investigation of the flow around a circular cylinder under the influence of an electromagnetic force

An investigation of the effect of the local electromagnetic body force on the flow behavior around a circular cylinder is conducted. The electromagnetic force is applied locally on the cylinder surface in the range of 70–130° from the stagnation point along the cylinder circumference in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. The numerical results predict that the Lorentz force applied in the circumferential direction on the cylinder moves the separation point rearward, and reduces the drag. To validate the numerical results, an experiment is conducted with a circular cylinder of 5 cm diameter. The electrodes and permanent magnets are flush mounted on the cylinder in such a way that the Lorentz force is generated in the circumferential direction. Flow visualization with polystyrene particles and direct drag measurement using strain gages are made. The fluid used is natural sea water of electric conductivity of about 4 (Ω m)^-1. Induction effect can be neglected in the present investigation due to the low flow speed and the Lorentz force is proportional to E×B where E is an applied electric field and B is a magnetic field. Received: 7 June 1998/Accepted: 28 April 1999